Hand picked up his 15th save Wednesday, pitching 1.2 scoreless innings with two strikeouts while allowing two hits against the Nationals.

EDGE Analysis

Hand was called upon for his first five-out save of the season, and it nearly backfired. He got through the end of the eighth without incident, but then allowed a double and single to leadoff the ninth inning before working out of the jam with a strikeout and game-ending double play. The lefty remains a reliable option at closer, boasting a 2.08 ERA and ranking second in the NL with 15 saves.

Hand walked two batters but pitched a scoreless ninth inning to record the save Sunday against the Pirates.

EDGE Analysis

Hand entered the game in the ninth inning with a three-run lead and allowed the tying run to reach base. However, he did enough to secure a Padres win for his 14th save in 16 tries this season. He remains secure in his role, but has struggled with his walk rate as he has now allowed 4.81 BB/9 in 22 appearances.

Hand gave up a hit and struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning Friday to record his 13th save of the season in a 3-2 win over the Pirates.

EDGE Analysis

He's now converted seven straight chances, and Hand's rocky start to the season is well behind him as he now sports an impressive 2.31 ERA and 37:11 K:BB through 23 innings.

Hand earned his 12th save of the season in Wednesday's 4-0 win over the Rockies, allowing zero hits and one walk while recording two strikeouts across 1.1 innings.

EDGE Analysis

Hand entered the game in the eighth inning with the tying run on-deck, allowing him to earn the save with the four-run lead. The 28-year-old now has a 2.45 ERA and 1.09 WHIP and is 12-for-14 in save opportunities this season.

Hand picked up his 11th save of the season Sunday against the Cardinals, but not before giving up a home run, walking a pair, hitting a batter and throwing a wild pitch. He struck out two.

EDGE Analysis

Fortunately he gave up the home run to Harrison Bader before his other miscues, otherwise it would have been a blown save. It almost was anyway, as he loaded the bases with one out before striking out Carson Kelly and Kolten Wong to secure the 5-3 win. Hand's job is quite secure, but this one was a bit of a circus before he finally picked up his 11th save, which is tied with Jeurys Familia for the second most in the National League.

Hand picked up his 10th save as he struck out two in a scoreless ninth Wednesday against Washington.

EDGE Analysis

Hand has saved four straight games and is now 10-for-12 on the season. He has been on fire of late, with a whopping eight strikeouts in his last three innings. Hand posted mediocre strikeout rates in Miami but has turned into an elite strikeout reliever in San Diego. After striking out 100 batters in consecutive seasons in 2016 and 2017, Hand owns a brilliant 14.8 K/9 in 17.2 innings in 2018.

Hand struck out the side in a perfect ninth inning to earn his ninth save of the season Sunday against the Dodgers.

EDGE Analysis

Just a matter of hours after striking out the side to close out Saturday's win, Hand repeated the feat in this one. He allowed three runs while blowing a save Monday, but he's bounced back with three consecutive conversions in which he's struck out six while allowing just one baserunner. Hand has a superb 2.70 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and a 14.6 K/9 this season.

Hand tossed a scoreless inning en route to his seventh save of the season in Tuesday's 3-2 victory over the Giants.

EDGE Analysis

It was a bit surprising to see manager Andy Green turn to Hand after he blew a multi-inning save opportunity that required 37 pitches the night prior. The closer rewarded his manager's confidence with a clean inning, showing no ill effects of the lengthy appearance Monday. The 28-year-old outperformed his 3.07 FIP by nearly a run during his stellar 2017 campaign, so his current 3.07 ERA (3.06 FIP) shouldn't come as a huge surprise. While the slight reduction in ERA is a minor criticism, Hand's strikeout (12.9 K/9) and groundball rates (2.7 GB/FB) are currently career highs, which bodes well for his production as the season progresses.

Hand (1-3) blew his second save and took the loss as he allowed three runs on two hits and two walks over 1.1 innings Monday against the Giants.

EDGE Analysis

Although Hand has already suffered three losses, he had been on fire since the calendar turned to April. Over his past 10 appearances, Hand had held opponents without an earned run over 9.1 innings with a 17:5 K:BB. Hand was going for his longest save of the year Monday night -- five outs -- and it seemed like he ran out of gas. After getting the first two outs of the ninth via strikeout, Hand walked two batters and allowed two singles to allow the Giants to turn a two-run deficit into a one-run victory. This shouldn't impact Hand's status as Padres closer, but he did throw 37 pitches, so we may see Kirby Yates or Craig Stammen pitching the ninth in Hand's stead should the Padres need a closer in the next couple of days.

Manager Andy Green said he would consider using Hand in critical situations of games even if it wasn't a traditional save situation, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Hand was brought in to Wednesday's loss in the seventh inning against the heart of the Rockies' lineup. The Padres were down 5-2 at the time and the closer hadn't pitched since last Friday, but Green said that he would have deployed Hand in a similar situation even if they were up 5-2. Managers using their best relievers against the toughest part of the opponent's lineup in a close game is a growing trend in baseball that started with Andrew Miller in Cleveland a couple years ago. While this strategy makes sense from a real baseball standpoint, this development with Hand could see him lose out on a handful of save chances if Green holds true to his word the rest of the season.