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Ernesto Frieri | Relief Pitcher

Team: Los Angeles Angels
Age / DOB:  (27) / 7/19/1985
Ht / Wt:  6'2' / 200
Bats / Throws: Right / Right
Contract: view contract details
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Ernesto Frieri tallied his seventh save of the year Saturday as the Angels defeated the White Sox.
Frieri struck out Adam Dunn, allowed a single to Dayan Viciedo, then retired Jeff Keppinger and Tyler Fowlers to pick up the save. He has a gorgeous 1.59 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 25/12 K/BB ratio in 17 innings this season and should remain the Anaheim closer even when Ryan Madson (elbow) is deemed fit for high-leverage situations. May 11 - 10:22 PM

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Ernesto Frieri slammed the door on the White Sox in the ninth inning on Friday, locking up his sixth save of the season.

The hard-throwing 27-year-old entered the game with a two-run lead, then proceeded to walk the leadoff hitter on four pitches to bring the tying run to the dish. He was able to dig in and whiff the next three hitters in order to end the threat and preserve the victory. Frieri has now converted six-of-seven save chances on the season while posting a 1.69 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 24/12 K/BB ratio in 16 innings. He's certainly pitched well enough to hold the closer's job after Ryan Madson returns.
May 10 - 11:54 PM

Ernesto Frieri got five outs for a save Thursday in the 6-5 win over the Astros.

Three of Frieri's five saves have seen him enter the game in the eighth inning, which illustrates just how much trouble the Angels have had getting to him. He's been successful despite the 11 walks in 15 innings this season; he has 21 strikeouts and he's allowed just three runs.
May 10 - 12:23 AM

Ernesto Frieri got five outs Wednesday for his fourth save against the Athletics.

Frieri, who relieved an injured Scott Downs in the eighth, escaped despite issuing three walks and hitting a batter. Yoenis Cespedes getting caught stealing for the first out of the ninth proved huge. Cespedes actually had second base taken, but he overslid the bag and was tagged out by Howie Kendrick. Frieri walked two more batters afterwards, but he got Brandon Moss to fly out and Josh Reddick to foul out to end it.
May 1 - 7:21 PM

Ernesto Frieri suffered his first loss of the season Monday when he allowed a go-ahead solo homer to the Rangers' A.J. Pierzynski.

The previous batter, Adrian Beltre, just missed homering, but Pierzynski didn't miss Frieri's first-pitch fastball, pummeling it into the seats. Frieri has converted both of his save chances this season and has struck out 11 over 7 1/3 frames, but he's also walked five and has a 1.50 WHIP. Still, he has some job security and should pitch the ninth inning for a while with Ryan Madson's recent setback.
Apr 23 - 1:37 AM

Ernesto Frieri struck out two of the four batters he faced in the 13th to pick up a save Monday against the Reds.

Frieri was quite shaky this spring, but he's pretty much locked into the closer's role in Anaheim with Ryan Madson out. That could make him one of the AL's early save leaders.
Apr 1 - 9:01 PM

Ernesto Frieri has been working on developing his off-speed pitches this spring, specifically his changeup.

He's gotten to the point now where he feels comfortable enough throwing the pitch in any situation. As good as Frieri was in 2012, if he can successfully add a good breaking pitch to his arsenal, he could become truly elite. With Ryan Madson likely to open the season on the DL, Frieri will begin the year as the Angels primary closer.
Mar 15 - 10:48 PM

Ernesto Frieri slammed the door on the Mariners on Tuesday night, retiring all three hitters he faced to preserve a one-run lead and an Angels victory.

Frieri struck out two and induced a weak fly out. Angels skipper Mike Scioscia announced last week that he was going to employ a "closer-by-committee" down the stretch, but Frieri has remained the preferred option. Perhaps Scioscia was trying to light a fire under the right-hander, who has now converted 21 of his 24 save opportunities on the season.
Wed, Sep 26, 2012 01:29:00 AM

Ernesto Frieri bounced back from consecutive losses to pitch a scoreless ninth Saturday in a save against the White Sox.

Frieri protected a two-run lead for his 20th save. He's no longer the Angels' sole closer, but it appears that Mike Scioscia still has a fair amount of faith in him.
Sun, Sep 23, 2012 12:09:00 AM

Angels manager Mike Scioscia announced on Friday that he will employee a closer-by-committee utilizing Ernesto Frieri, Scott Downs and Kevin Jepsen for the remainder of the season.

This comes after Frieri picked up his second consecutive loss when he surrendered a two-run homer to Adrian Beltre on Thursday. He's been extremely disappointing in the second half of the season, posting a 5.82 ERA over 21 2/3 innings.
Fri, Sep 21, 2012 08:23:00 PM

Ernesto Frieri had one of his worst outings of the season in Saturday's loss to the Royals, surrendering back-to-back homers in the ninth inning to give the Royals a stunning walk-off victory.

Zack Greinke took a shutout into the ninth inning, and handed the ball over to Frieri after allowing a one-out single to Alex Gordon. The usually reliable Frieri came on, and surrendered a homer to Billy Butler on his first pitch to tie the game, and then a walk-off winner to Salvador Perez just three pitches later.
Sat, Sep 15, 2012 09:45:00 PM

Ernesto Frieri retired all three batters he faced in Saturday's victory over the Mariners.

Frieri picked up his 17th save of the year in the process. The Angels' early-season acquisition from the Padres has been brilliant this summer, now sporting a fantastic 2.15 ERA and 87/27 K/BB ratio through 54 1/3 innings.
Sat, Sep 1, 2012 07:28:00 PM

Ernesto Frieri served up a solo home run to Cody Ross in the ninth inning on Thursday, picking up his second blown save of the season.

Frieri also worked the 10th inning after the Angels scored a pair in the top half of the inning, allowing an RBI single to Dustin Pedroia, but escaping with the victory. His final line showed two runs on three hits over his two innings of work while striking out four. Frieri remains a solid closer option, and has converted 15-of-17 saves while posting a 3-0 record, 2.24 ERA and staggering 83/27 K/BB ratio over his 52 1/3 innings.
Fri, Aug 24, 2012 12:04:00 AM

Ernesto Frieri sent the Red Sox down in order on Tuesday, picking up his 15th save of the season.

Frieri has been extremely impressive this year, now with a 1.98 ERA and 79/27 K/BB ratio over 50 innings to go along with a pair of victories and 15 saves. He remains a borderline elite closer and should deliver plenty of production over the season's final six weeks.
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 10:29:00 PM

Ernesto Frieri pitched a scoreless ninth Friday for his first save since July 5.

The Angels have been winning, but they haven't been generating save opportunities for either of their co-closers. Scott Downs had just two saves since Frieri's last on July 5. Frieri now has 12 saves for the season.
Sat, Jul 28, 2012 12:56:00 AM

Depth Charts

Batters
PosRoleName
C1Chris Iannetta
2Hank Conger
1B1Albert Pujols
2B1Howie Kendrick
SS1Erick Aybar
2Brendan Harris
3B1Alberto Callaspo
2Chris Nelson
LF1Mike Trout
2J.B. Shuck
CF1Peter Bourjos
RF1Josh Hamilton
DH1Mark Trumbo
Starting Pitcher
PosRoleName
S1Jered Weaver
2C.J. Wilson
3Joe Blanton
4Jason Vargas
5Tommy Hanson
6Jerome Williams
Relief Pitcher
PosRoleName
R1Ernesto Frieri
2Ryan Madson
3Scott Downs
4Sean Burnett
5Kevin Jepsen
6Mark Lowe
7Garrett Richards
8Dane De La Rosa
9Michael Kohn
10Billy Buckner
11Ryan Brasier
12Robert Coello
13Andrew Taylor