Bryan King: Everything you need to know

King earned a save against the Dodgers on Tuesday, allowing one run on three hits and no walks while striking out two batters over two innings. After Peter Lambert gave Houston seven scoreless frames, King was called upon in the eighth to preserve a 2-0 lead. The southpaw surrendered a run on two hits in the inning but was allowed to return for the ninth, and he worked around a one-out single to close out the Houston victory. King is up to three saves on the campaign and has earned a save in each of his past two appearances, so he's clearly a trusted part of the Astros' high-leverage mix. He could see more save opportunities over the next several weeks, though Josh Hader (biceps) figures to reclaim his closer role once he's ready to be activated from the injured list, which could happen in late May.

King earned his second save of the season Saturday against the Red Sox after pitching a scoreless ninth inning. The Astros deployed Enyel De Los Santos across the fifth and sixth frames of Saturday's game, so manager Joe Espada opted to go with King over Brayan Abreu to protect the team's 6-3 lead in the ninth. The decision turned out to be the right one, as King needed just six pitches (four strikes) to retire the side. The Astros should continue to use a committee approach to closing duties between King, Abreu and De Los Santos until Josh Hader (biceps) is cleared to return from the 60-day injured list, the earliest of which would take place in late May.

King was charged with his first blown save of the season in Tuesday's 8-5 loss to the Guardians, coughing up three runs on two hits and two walks over two-thirds of an inning. He failed to strike out a batter. The Astros headed into the bottom of the eighth inning with a 4-2 lead, but Enyel De Los Santos and King combined to surrender six runs in the frame, and the left-hander was the one tagged with the blown save. Manager Joe Espada is still searching for answers at closer with Josh Hader (bicep) on the shelf, and while King stepped up as a reliable high-leverage option over the first few weeks of the season, he's now given up six runs (four earned) over his last two appearances and 2.2 innings. On the season, he carries a 4.50 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 12:5 K:BB through 10.2 innings with one save and two holds in nine outings.