In his second appearance since being called up, Joel Kuhnel was asked to protect a one-run lead against the Yankees in the ninth inning Wednesday and delivered a flawless inning for his second career save.

Kuhnel, a 31-year-old journeyman with a lifetime 5.78 ERA, recorded his previous save with the Reds in 2022. He had the good fortune to face J.C. Escarra, Amed Rosario and Ryan McMahon in the ninth tonight, as the Yankees didn’t even try calling on Austin Wells or Paul Goldschmidt off the bench. Kuhnel had a nice spring and probably would have made the A’s on merit if not for the fact that he was on a minor league deal with no out clause. Consider him part of the ugly mix for saves in Sacramento, but we still wouldn’t suggest rushing to pick him up.