Guardians' Vogt confident in Clase: 'Right back in that closer role'

Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt remains confident in star reliever Emmanuel Clase.

Clase pitched a clean eighth inning with two strikeouts in Saturday's 5-4 win over the Boston Red Sox. The outing was Clase's first since he blew a save after allowing three runs on four hits last Sunday against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

"It was great," Vogt said, according to Sports Illustrated's Tommy Wild. "I talked with him before the game and said, 'Hey, it's been five days. (You) didn't go on a rehab. We don't want to put you on the IL. We want to keep you active. Probably look for a little lower leverage just to get you back on your feet.' He was great with it, and that's the teammate he is."

Clase had been unavailable over the past few days due to soreness in his right shoulder. The Guardians turned to Cade Smith for the save Saturday, and he also closed out two games against the New York Yankees earlier in the week.

Despite that, Vogt is excited to give the ball back to Clase when the next save situation arises.

"He'll be right back in that closer role," Vogt said.

The 27-year-old Clase owns a 7.15 ERA with four saves and 11 strikeouts across 11 1/3 innings this season.