Fernando Salas blew his second save opportunity in his last three outings Monday against the Dodgers.

This was his fifth blown save and fifth loss of the year. It was far from a typical blown save. Cardinals skipper Tony La Russa sent starter Chris Carpenter out in the ninth with a 1-0 lead and the veteran plunked lead-off hitter Juan Rivera. He was relieved by Arthur Rhodes, who struck out Andre Ethier. La Russa went to Salas, who gave up a triple to Aaron Miles to score the tying run. Salas was then yanked for Jason Motte, who induced a grounder to shortstop Rafael Furcal, who couldn't beat Miles home on the throw. Salas has allowed only two runs since July 21, so we're not at all concerned with his job security.

Fernando Salas saved his 22nd game in Thursday's win over the Brewers.

Salas struck out two and got a pop-up in the clean inning. He may not have prototypical closer stuff, but Salas has been rock-solid for the Redbirds this season, sporting a 2.24 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 58/14 K/BB ratio over 56 1/3 innings while converting 22 of 25 save chances.

Cardinals closer Fernando Salas has not allowed a run in seven consecutive relief appearances.

The 26-year-old has experienced his fair share of hiccups since taking over ninth inning duties from Ryan Franklin, but Salas boasts a sparkling 2.28 ERA and 0.92 WHIP in 55 1/3 total innings. He also has a 56/14 K/BB ratio. The Cards will be in good hands down the stretch.

Fernando Salas notched his 18th save in Friday's win over the Pirates.

Salas has had a rough road trip, serving up walk-off blasts in Cincinnati and New York, but he had a rather uneventful ninth inning Friday, getting around a one-out Mike McKenry single while also notching a strikeout. He's converted 18 of 21 chances this season.

Closer Fernando Salas took the loss in St. Louis' 6-5, 10-inning setback in New York on Wednesday evening.

Salas pitched an uneventful ninth before serving up a walkoff home run to Angel Pagan with one out in the 10th. Salas has consistently struggled in outings where he's been called on to pitch more than one inning this season, so it's surprising he was sent back out for the 10th by manager Tony La Russa. Clearly the best reliever in St. Louis' bullpen, Salas' recent struggles won't cost him his closing gig at the expense of a current teammate, but it's hard to believe the Cardinals aren't actively scouring the market for a veteran reliever with closing experience.

Fernando Salas nailed down his 13th save Thursday, allowing a hit but no runs to shut the door on the Orioles.

Salas has been bitten by the longball in June, giving up three over his last seven appearances, but he also finishes the month with a 0.98 WHIP, so it's not as if he's been getting hit that hard. He's converted 13 of 15 chances on the year and carries a 2.68. Particularly with Eduardo Sanchez on the DL, the only way Salas will lose his job anytime soon is if the Cards trade for Heath Bell.

Fernando Salas blew his second save of the year in Sunday's late-innings win over the Royals.

Salas surrendered a towering game-tying home run to Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar in the top of the ninth inning. The right-hander was able to get out of the frame and the Cardinals picked up the victory thanks to Skip Schumaker's walkoff shot in the bottom half, but it's yet another pock mark on an ugly June for Salas. The Cardinals don't really have a better option at the moment with Eduardo Sanchez still rehabbing a sore right shoulder, but the situation warrants monitoring.

Fernando Salas notched his 10th save with a scoreless ninth inning Tuesday.

He allowed a bloop double on a ball that was misplayed by Colby Rasmus, but it was another relatively easy save for the right-hander. Salas has now converted all 10 of his save chances this season while posting a 1.52 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 25/6 K/BB ratio over 23 2/3 innings. Not bad for a guy that didn't even crack the Opening Day roster. He's the clear ninth inning man in the St. Louis bullpen right now.

Fernando Salas picked up his third save in three days by retiring two Padres on Monday.

Manager Tony La Russa brought in Brian Tallet to face Brad Hawpe to start the ninth. It worked perfectly, as the left-hander struck out Hawpe, and Salas was left to get two outs in a two-run game. He did give up a single in the process before retiring Orlando Hudson to end it.

Fernando Salas got the call in the ninth inning Thursday and protected a two-run lead against the Astros for his fifth save.

Salas has two saves and a win in his last three appearances. There's no guarantee it will last, but he is the top guy in the St. Louis pen at the moment.

While Fernando Salas looks like the favorite, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa refuses to name a primary closer.

"It just depends on who's coming up in the seventh, eighth and ninth, and whether you've got favorable matchups one way or another," said La Russa. "Because we've got different type pitchers out there." Mitchell Boggs and even Eduardo Sanchez remain in the mix, but Salas is the one to own in mixed leagues right now.

Fernando Salas tossed a scoreless ninth inning in a tie game Tuesday against the Phillies and ended up earning his second victory.

Salas, the favorite for saves in St. Louis' muddled bullpen, entered a 1-1 game and struck out one in a perfect ninth. Lance Berkman had the game-winning hit in the bottom half of the frame to send him to his second win. Salas now has a 1.02 ERA and 0.79 WHIP. He needs to be owned in all formats.

Pitching coach Dave Duncan said that Fernando Salas is likely to get the call in save opportunities for the Cardinals going forward.

With Eduardo Sanchez failing in his shot, it looks like Salas is going to get a chance. "If you look at what [Salas] did and how he pitched before we put him in the role he's in now, he was really an effective pitcher. So it may best serve him and us to put him back into that type of situation for the time being," Duncan said. Mitchell Boggs will be in the mix as well, but Salas has the ability to run with the gig.

Fernando Salas notched his second save in the past three days in Saturday's 3-2 win over the Braves.

In short, Tony La Russa doesn't care about your fantasy team. Mitchell Boggs looked like the front-runner for saves just one week ago, but he pitched the bottom of the eighth inning Saturday. It's obviously not the worst strategy from a baseball perspective, as La Russa needed Boggs to put up a zero in a tie game, but this situation continues to be frustrating for fantasy owners. Stash Salas if you're in the mood to speculate, but this promises to be a very fluid situation.

Cardinals recalled RHP Fernando Salas from Triple-A Memphis.

Salas turned in a stellar 0.87 ERA over nine outings this spring and probably should have broken camp with the big league club. He should stay up for a while.

Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the Cardinals have dispatched minor league right-handers Fernando Salas and Eduardo Sanchez to Arizona on Wednesday.

At least one of them will join the team to replace the injured Bryan Augenstein on the active roster. The Cardinals have yet to decide whether Brian Tallet will need a DL-stint for a fracture on his glove hand.

Cardinals reassigned RHP Fernando Salas and OF Nick Stavinoha to minor league camp.

Salas will be one of the first relievers called up if there's a need in the early going at the big league level. He posted a 0.87 ERA in nine outings this spring.

Fernando Salas pitched two hitless innings on Friday and is up to six scoreless innings for the spring.

He's allowed just one hit during that span. The talk at the start of camp was that Salas would probably be farmed out if everyone stayed healthy, in part because the Cardinals wanted a multi-inning reliever (probably Miguel Batista) for their last bullpen spot. Now it looks like Salas could occupy a key role in the pen with Kyle McClellan potentially replacing Adam Wainwright in the rotation.

Cardinals optioned RHP Fernando Salas to Triple-A Memphis.

Salas has had five separate stints with the big club this year and has pitched quite well, posting a 2.51 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 13/5 K/BB ratio in 14 1/3 relief innings. He's a better option than Mike MacDougal, but the Cardinals evidently don't want to have to pass MacDougal through waivers.

Cardinals recalled RHP Fernando Salas from Triple-A Memphis.

He replaces Jason Motte, who landed on the DL. Salas has been up and down from Triple-A five times now this season and has pitched well with the big club, holding a 2.31 ERA and 1.11 WHIP over 11 2/3 innings.