Welcome back to the latest edition of our Reliever Ranks series! 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 looking to stream saves or wins. This series runs seven days a week, so check in every morning to get your daily bullpen fix!
Notes
Transaction and Schedule Notes
- We had 11 games on a busy Monday of MLB action – eight teams had a scheduled day off: BOS, TOR, MIA, NYM, PHI, MIL, CIN, and SDP.
- Jason Adam will resume closer duties for the Rays as Pete Fairbanks was sent back to the injured list with a left hip problem. Colin Poche will also be in line for high leverage duties.
- The feel good story of the day is the return of Liam Hendriks from his battle with stage four cancer. The Aussie will be a welcome sight on our screens as his is one of the most likeable, charismatic relievers in the game. Whether he jumps straight back into a closer role is yet to be decided. Jimmy Lambert was sent to the injured list in the corresponding move.
- The Cardinals announced that they will no longer go with a six-man rotation and veteran Steven Matz was used out of the bullpen indicating that Matthew Liberatore will be the fifth starter moving forward. Matz will be a solid option for wins in relief.
Yesterday’s Performances
COL 5 – ARI 7
SV: Andrew Chafin (8)
- After starter Karl Kauffman was hit hard through four innings, Matt Carasiti and Brad Hand held the Diamondbacks scoreless the rest of the way but it wasn’t enough to give their offense a chance to get back into the contest.
- Andrew Chafin stole the save away from Drew Jameson in the ninth inning after he was called upon to get the final out of Elehuris Montero. Jameson had previously worked through three and two thirds innings of shutout baseball but allowed a single to Randal Grichuk to force the Diamondbacks to go to Chafin. “The Sheriff” made no mistake in striking out the young Rockie to record his eighth save of the season.
LAA 6 – CHW 4
SV: Carlos Estévez (13)
- Carlos Estévez immediately gave up a solo bomb to Eloy Jiménez to open the ninth inning then hit Andrew Vaughan and walked Gavin Sheets with just one out and a two-run lead. Somehow the veteran reached deep down into his bag of tricks and used all his experience to work around it and earn his 13th save of the season. It was far from convincing. Still, Estevez has allowed just two runs in his last 17 frames and boasts a 1.50 ERA and 32:10 K:BB through 24 appearances, nailing down all of his 13 save opportunities.
- The returning Liam Hendriks gave up two runs on three hits in the eighth inning to spoil his comeback in a White Sox uniform. Hendriks gave up hits to Matt Thiass and Mike Trout as the Angels stretched their lead late in the game. Aaron Bummer replaced him in the ninth inning. Kendall Graveman is still holding onto the closer spot for now it seems.
CLE 5 – BAL 0
- With thanks to seven superb scoreless innings from Logan Allen, who recorded a season-high 10 strikeouts, the Guardians could rest their primary bullpen arms with a five run lead going into the eighth. Both Trevor Stephan and Enyel De Los Santos threw scoreless frames to grind out the win.
- Cionel Pérez was hit hard in relief of Tyler Wells in the seventh inning, giving up four runs on four hits with two earned after a throwing error from Adam Frazier. Still, the inning got away from Perez as did the game from the Orioles.
NYY 10 – SEA 4
- Albert Abreu pitched two scoreless frames in relief to ensure the Yankees closed the door on the Mariners after the Yankees tee’d off on Bryce Miller early in this contest. Domingo Germán went six strong innings and Ron Marinaccio saw out the seventh to keep the primary arms fresh.
- The Mariners needed multi-innings from both Chris Flexen and Juan Then after young starlet Miller was pounded hard by the Yankees power line-up. Miller was tagged for eight runs on 11 hits but Then then Flexen steadied the ship to give Seattle hope in the later innings.
WSN 1 – LAD 6
- Working with a 1-0 lead going into the fifth inning, Trevor Williams collapsed under the pressure of the top of the Dodgers order. Freddie Freeman hit a two-run double and J.D. Martinez unleashed a three-run bomb to put the Dodgers out of reach. Thaddeus Ward and Erasmo Ramírez held the Dodgers scoreless to keep the score respectable.
- It’s all too easy for Bobby Miller right now as the young Dodgers star picked up his second win in as many MLB starts. Veterans Victor González, Justin Bruihl and Shelby Miller combined for just two hits across three frames to hand the youngster his second career win.
MIN 7 – HOU 5 (10)
BS: Ryan Pressly (1)
- Jhoan Duran pitched two clean innings to walk away with his first win of the season after striking out three and dominating the Astros in extras. Duran has been outstanding as the Twins closer and had no issues working multiple innings against on the league’s best lineups. He could be in for a rest today, however so look for Jorge López to nab a save opportunity.
- Ryan Pressly blew the save opportunity as Royce Lewis lined a single into centre field after Pressly had allowed two baserunners earlier in the inning. Pressly looked uncomfortable from the second he walked Alex Kiriloff – it was his first blown save of the year. Bryan Abreu gave up a two-run homer to Ryan Jeffers, the first batter he faced in the top of the 10th, and the Astros couldn’t respond thanks to Duran’s nasty stuff.
Best of the rest
- Marcus Stroman, take a bow! The Cubs ace pitched a masterpiece in the 1-0 win of the Rays, striking out eight and allowing just two baserunners in a complete game shutout. Stroman was phenomenal through 105 pitches and is firmly in his prime.
- Coming off the back of a complete game just six days ago, Nathan Eovaldi was pulled after throwing 95 pitches across five innings in the Rangers’ 5-0 win over the Tigers. Jonathan Hernández threw two scoreless innings to carry most of the weight the rest of the way.
- Mike Mayers put in his second standout relief outing in the past fortnight to pick up the win on the back of opener Josh Staumont in the Royals’ 7-0 demolition of the Cardinals. Mayers hurled near six innings of perfect baseball before giving up a hit to Nolan Arenado in the eighth inning to ruin the dream of MLB’s first ever combined perfect game.
- Trevor May pitched in the ninth inning in a non-save situation for the A’s, who won their first game in a long long time. May was already warming up when Oakland tagged on three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning off Lucas Luetge. With him missing so much time with mental health concerns, the A’s elected to give him the confidence booster in the 7-2 win. Lucas Erceg took the win in relief of the returning Paul Blackburn. Finally some positive signs for Oakland fans.
- An eight-run bottom of the seventh inning saw the Giants tee off on Pirates reliever Cody Bolton, who gave up all the runs on six hits and recorded just one out. Ouch. The Giants ran out 14-4 winners.
Bullpen Depth Charts
Also, if you’re looking for a detailed list or ranking of RPs, check out Rick Graham’s weekly pieces:
The Hold Up: Ranking the Top 100 Relievers for Holds Every Thursday
Closing Time: Ranking the Top 30 Closers
Top 100 Relievers for Save+Hold Leagues
(Photos by Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Doug Carlin (@Bdougals on Twitter)