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 an excellent 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
- All 30 teams were in action yesterday, with Cleveland and the Twins playing a doubleheader. Those two teams saw extensive bullpen usage, as did the Brewers and Tigers alongside the Cardinals and the Mets, where both games went to 11 innings. Manage your starts according to our chart below.
- The best choice for a potential win vulture today comes from the Miami Marlins. Trevor Rogers will once again start on the hill as he returns to full strength. He has yet to get through five innings in the two starts since returning from the injured list. The Marlins have a favorable matchup against the Nationals and Josh Rogers. I would look at starting Anthony Bender if you have the opportunity to.
Transaction Notes
- The Los Angeles Dodgers activated closer Kenley Jansen from the paternity list. Jansen returns to the club with 32 saves so far this campaign and will immediately resume his ninth-inning duties.
- The Pittsburgh Pirates placed David Bednar on the 10-day injured list with a right oblique strain. A likely sad end to the year for the rookie who has excelled in the closer role as of late. Chris Stratton is the next man up.
- The Detroit Tigers placed Jose Cisnero on the 10-day injured list with a right elbow laceration.
- The Baltimore Orioles placed Tanner Scott on the 10-day injured list with a left knee sprain.
Yesterday’s Performances
- Cleveland’s Emmanuel Clase earned his 23rd save of the season in the first game of a doubleheader against the Twins. The youngster dealt a perfect 11-pitch frame with one strikeout to secure a 3-1 win. Emerging as a fierce arm in the closer roles, Clase now supports a 1.44 ERA and 66/15 K/BB ratio across 62 2/3 innings. He is locked into the closer role for the foreseeable future.
- The advice was given to add Alex Colome in this article last week after a dominant month as the Twins closer. I hope you took my advice as he notched his 14th save of the season after producing another scoreless ninth inning as the Twins beat Cleveland 6-3 in the second game of a doubleheader. Colome is as good a bet as any to see out the season strongly in Minnesota.
- Andrew Kittredge has now seen the Rays’ last five save opportunities, and he had no issues retiring the side yesterday to earn his seventh save of the season. Protecting a two-run lead against the top of the on-fire Blue Jays batting order, Kittredge brushed them off with a popout, a flyout, and a groundout. It was his first save since Sep 4, however. Don’t expect him to be prolific down the stretch.
- After the news that the Pirates sent the promising David Bednar to the injured list, Chris Stratton assumed the closer role in the top of the ninth inning, protecting a two-run lead against the postseason-chasing Reds. Stratton gave up a two-out solo home run to Nick Castellanos to make things interesting before striking out Joey Votto to end the contest. He should be the Pirates’ only viable closer option going forward.
- Roll on Rowan Wick! He was once again impressive in striking out the side to earn his fourth save of an interrupted year. Since returning from the injured list, Wick has eight scoreless innings in his last five appearances. He now boasts a healthy 22/6 K/BB ratio in 16 2/3 innings, locking up the closer role for the Cubs for the remainder of the year.
- Another arm who has earned himself the closer job until the end of the year is the Rockies’ Carlos Estevez. Pitching around a walk and a single in the ninth against Atlanta, the unlikely veteran has emerged as a reliable option for Colorado after the Jekyll-and-Hyde displays of Daniel Bard. Estevez now has five saves in September alone. Yesterday’s save was his eighth of the year.
- Another meltdown in the A’s bullpen opened the door for the Royals to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Closer Scott Barlow immediately walked Starling Marte and Matt Olson as things turned gloomy. Barlow then forced Yan Gomes to hit into a double-play ball before Mark Canha could only fly out to allow Barlow out of the jam. He improved to convert 13-of-19 save chances on the season, doing so with a healthy 2.34 ERA and 1.20 WHIP.
- A first save of the season alert! Traditionally a starter through the campaign, Cardinals import Kwang Hyun Kim was called upon in the 11th inning to close out the extras game against the Mets. After the Cardinals put up three runs in the top of the inning, Kim nearly made a mess of things as he gave up a run-scoring double to Pete Alonso before making a terrible throwing error to allow Alonso to score and ring the Mets within a run. Albert Almora could only ground out and spare Kim’s blushes. Giovanny Gallegos was responsible for an earlier blown save in the ninth as he allowed a lead-off homer to Javier Baez.