Welcome back to Relievers to Stream for Wins and Saves! This will bring you up-to-date bullpen depth charts every morning for the day’s games and makes for a great tool for those of you looking to stream saves or wins. This series runs seven days a week, so be sure to check in every morning to get your daily bullpen fix!
Notes
Schedule Notes
- 26 teams were in action across baseball yesterday with the Rays vs Indians and the Mets vs Brewers both postponed due to inclement weather. Those teams will play doubleheaders today to make those games up so be sure to start all closers and setup men as per our chart below.
- The best opportunity to vulture a win today looks like it’ll come from the Rays, with Josh Fleming returning from the injured list to start the second game of the doubleheader against Cleveland. The lefty has notch six wins for the Rays as a valuable end-of-the-rotation starter but will likely be managed in his first start back. Veteran swingman Collin McHugh is likely to be called upon to piggyback off Fleming for this one.
Transaction and Injury Notes
- The Houston Astros activated reliever Bryan Abreu from the 10-day injured list. He went straight to work against the Athletics today, earning the win in relief of Framber Valdez. Abreu pitched a clean two innings, allowing just one hit while striking out two. He will slot in for bulk relief opportunities moving forward. The Nationals activated reliever Kyle Finnegan from the 10-day injured list after he missed time with a hamstring injury. Finnegan has recorded three wins in relief this season and could be one to watch down the stretch.
- The Los Angeles Dodgers placed lefty reliever Victor Gonzalez on the 10-day injured list with left plantar fasciitis. The New York Yankees also placed Darren O’Day on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain.
Yesterday’s Performances
- The league leader in saves notched his 26th of the season yesterday – Padres closer Mark Melancon fired a clean ninth inning against the Nationals, needing just eight pitches to protect a three-run lead. Melancon retired Gerardo Parra, Alcides Escobar, and Trea Turner to close out the game. Melancon only has 30 strikeouts across 36 1/3 frames, however, he continues to force hitters into groundouts and flyouts.
- It is a totally different story for Liam Hendriks – the star Chicago White Sox reliever struck out four and retired all six batters he faced to record a two-inning save against the Twins on Tuesday. Hendriks is certainly proving his worth on the South Side. This was his 22nd save of the season and he now sports a remarkable 57/4 K/BB ratio over 37 innings. Elite.
- Ryan Pressly nailed down an important save against division rivals the Oakland Athletics. The Astros took a 9-6 lead into the ninth inning after previously trailing 6-2 earlier in the contest. Pressly made light work of the top of the A’s order to notch his 15th save of the year. What is even more impressive is his 22/1 K/BB ratio over his past 13 appearances, in which he is yet to allow a run.
- Staying in the AL West, Angels closer Raisel Iglesias recorded his 17th save of the year despite allowing a two-out homer to Hunter Renfroe while protecting a 5-2 lead in the ninth inning. Iglesias has had a fantastic run lately, recording two wins and five saves in his last eight outings. In that stretch, he has struck out 17, allowing just two runs and walking nobody.
- Claimed off waivers by the Cardinals from the Nationals just four days ago, Justin Miller recorded his first save since 2018 in St. Louis’ 6-5 win over the Giants. In somewhat of a surprise, Miller was brought into the game after Genesis Cabrera gave up two runs in the eighth inning before coming out in the ninth and allowing two baserunners with just one out. Miller forced a flyout and a pop-out to earn the save. Giovanny Gallegos and Alex Reyes had pitched on back-to-back nights so were unavailable out of the bullpen. It’s hard to see Miller becoming a permanent option in the ninth, however.
- Trade candidate Richard Rodriguez came away with the win for the Pirates after pitching a solid top of the ninth inning before Atlanta reliever Tyler Matzek allowed a walk-off walk to hand the Pirates a 2-1 win. Rodriguez has also converted 11 of his 13 save opportunities so far this season.
- The Reds bullpen fell apart in the late innings, giving up six runs across the bottom of the eighth and ninth in a 7-6 loss to the Royals. Cionel Perez, Brad Brach, and Heath Hembree imploded to hand the Royals the game after Luis Castillo was brilliant through seven strong innings, allowing just three hits.
- Blake Treinen took the loss for the Dodgers in a 2-1 extra-innings defeat against the Miami Marlins. It was a little harsh on Treinen after he entered in the bottom of the ninth inning to clean up a mess left by Scott Alexander. However, a wild pitch in the bottom of the 10th was followed by a throwing error to third base by catcher Will Smith. The ball wriggled into the hoardings in foul territory, allowing Starling Marte to cross home plate for the winning run.
- Diamondbacks closer Joakim Soria earned his first win of the season against the Rockies yesterday – the veteran Mexican tossed a perfect top of the ninth inning with one K to keep the Rockies off the board. Rockies closer Daniel Bard fell to pieces, however, loading the bases before hitting David Peralta with a pitch to end the game. Two of the less reliable closers, Soria and Bard are not only devoid of regular opportunities, but they also are liable to implode. Soria holds a 4.43 ERA and 1.43 WHIP across 22 1/3 innings; Bard has only converted 70% of his save opportunities and has a 4.08 ERA and ugly 1.63 WHIP across 35 2/3 innings. Both should only be added if desperate.
Bullpen Depth Charts