The Athletics have installed Brian Fuentes as their closer, replacing Grant Balfour after Saturday's game against the Tigers. Fuentes, a four-time All-Star as a closer, earned the save against Detroit. Balfour, who won the job coming out of spring training, had struggled, with an 11.81 ERA over his previous seven outings after giving up just one run in his first 10 appearances. "We're going to back off with Balfour a little while and see what Brian has to offer," Bob Melvin said.