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
- There were 16 games on Wednesday, with the Braves and Tigers completing an afternoon doubleheader. Only 10 games are scheduled for Thursday, with the other 10 teams travelling.
- The Rangers activated right-hander Joe Barlow from the injured list after he spent two weeks out dealing with kidney stones. Owen White was optioned to Triple-A.
- The Dodgers activated Shelby Miller from the bereavement list after four days away from the team. LHP Adam Kolarek was DFA’d.
- The Orioles placed Austin Voth on the 15-day IL with elbow discomfort. RHP Reed Garrett was called up to take his place. Keegan Akin, who last threw two and two-thirds innings on Sunday, is now the primary long-relief option in Baltimore.
- RHP Drew Smith officially began his 10-day suspension for use of an illegal foreign substance in Tuesday’s game against the Yankees. Dominic Leone and John Curtiss should step up in the Mets’ bullpen pecking order during his absence.
Yesterday’s Performances
ATL 10 – DET 7 (Game 1)
H: Kirby Yates (4), A.J. Minter (4)
- Much like in Monday’s series opener, the Braves entered the final innings of this game with a four-run lead. And, just like Monday, Raisel Iglesias nearly blew it. The ace closer allowed three consecutive two-out hits in the ninth, bringing the tying run to the plate, but unlike Monday, he was able to escape with the win (albeit no save). After starting the month of June with five straight scoreless outings, Iglesias has now allowed four runs on eight hits this week — but there’s no reason to panic, given his repertoire.
- The Tigers’ bullpen had to cover five-plus innings after a poor showing from Reese Olson, which certainly isn’t ideal in the first half of a doubleheader. However, they got by using just three relievers Tyler Holton, Brendan White, and Braden Bristo. Small victories?
- The first man out of the bullpen for Atlanta was Jesse Chavez, who threw just four pitches before he was struck by a come-backer and had to leave the game. Thankfully for the Braves, the 39-year-old’s X-rays came back negative, and he’s considered day-to-day.
MIL 2 – MIN 4
H: Brock Stewart (5), Jhoan Duran (1)
SV: Griffin Jax (1)
- It was a fairly run-of-the-mill outing for the Brewers’ pen, which, as we all know, is a very good thing. Hoby Milner, Bryse Wilson and Tyson Miller each took care of business and kept the Twins hitless and off the board for the final three innings. Who can complain about a two-hour, 23-minute ballgame?
- The Twins took their lead early, went with Brock Stewart in the seventh, and decided to use Jhoan Duran against the top of the Milwaukee order in the eighth. Duran retired the side efficiently, but Rocco Baldelli replaced him with Griffin Jax in the ninth nonetheless. Jax was equally efficient, closing it out on just 11 pitches — he picked up his first save of the season and his 10th consecutive scoreless appearance.
SFG 8 – STL 5 (10)
H: Jordan Hicks (6)
SV: Camilo Doval (18)
- Anthony DeSclafani lasted just three innings, but Jakob Junis picked him up with three scoreless frames to follow. Both Rogers brothers turned in shutout innings as well, with Tyler Rogers picking up the win thanks to San Francisco’s three-run 10th inning. Camilo Doval entered in the bottom of the 10th and worked around the free runner to nail down his 18th save, striking out two in the process.
- Giovanny Gallegos‘ tenure as St. Louis’ interim closer is off to a rocky start. He entered with a 5-3 lead in the ninth, walked one, recorded two outs, and then allowed a game-tying two-run shot to Mike Yastrzemski. The Cards went with converted starter Steven Matz in the 10th, and that went about as you’d expect.
ATL 6 – DET 5
H: Joe Jiménez (4)
SV: A.J. Minter (10)
- For all their struggles in game one, the Atlanta bullpen was lights-out in the afternoon-cap (Is that a thing? I’m going with it). Clinging to a narrow one-run lead this time, Brian Snitker went to Collin McHugh in the fifth, and he answered with a brilliant season-high of three shutout innings to pick up the win (four Ks, also a season-high). Joe Jiménez followed, and A.J. Minter punctuated the double victory with his 10th save, to go along with his hold in game one. Not a bad day at the park!
- For Detroit, Michael Lorenzen was hit hard but persevered through the sixth. They went with Jason Foley, José Cisnero, and Chasen Shreve to take it home, none of whom allowed a run.
WSH 4 – HOU 5
H: Hector Neris (13)
- The Nationals came from behind to miraculously tie this game in the ninth off Ryan Pressly, then gave the ball to Hunter Harvey to try to send it to extras. He allowed a pair of singles, walked a man, and then the Astros walked it off on an error that started with the lead runner being successfully thrown out at home plate. Such is the life of a Nationals fan, I imagine.
- It was an ugly outing for Pressly, who collected his second blown save in as many weeks but was bailed out with a win. The Nationals took advantage of two errors in the inning, but one of them came on Pressly’s own throw home, so take the term “unearned runs” with a grain of salt. Regardless, he should bounce back soon.
TBR 6 – OAK 3
H: Ryan Thompson (4), Colin Poche (11)
SV: Jason Adam (11)
- The Rays put a stop to the A’s hot streak thanks to typically strong work from the bullpen, as Thompson, Poche and Adam combined to allow just one hit and five strikeouts in 3.2 innings. Adam pushed his team-leading saves total to 11, six more than the injured Pete Fairbanks, who is expected to be activated by this weekend.
- The A’s bullpen surrendered tag-on runs in the 7th and 9th, with Lucas Erceg and Sam Long allowing the damage. One can only hope they’ll be better prepared for their next seven-game winning streak.
CHW 8 – LAD 4
H: Keynan Middleton (3)
- After Gregory Santos and Aaron Bummer allowed the go-ahead runs to cross in the 6th, the White Sox ‘pen was solid. Reynaldo Lopez earned his second win for timely work in the 7th, Middleton got the job done in the 8th, and Kendall Graveman locked down the 9th in a non-save situation. It was a much-needed bounceback for Graveman & co. after some recent struggles.
- The Dodger bullpen staged another epic collapse, allowing six runs in the final two innings to spoil a brilliant Clayton Kershaw start. Yency Almonte picked up his second blown save and Tayler Scott allowed more runs scored than outs earned. Brusdar Graterol has now worked three out of four days, and will likely be out for Thursday’s contest, making Evan Phillips the clear leader for a save chance.
The Best of the Rest…
- Jordan Romano collected his 19th save in relief of José Berríos, who spun a gem in Toronto’s 3-1 win over the Orioles. Tim Mayza collected a hold for getting one out in between. Romano now trails Emmanuel Clase by just one save for the major league lead.
- The Mets emptied the tank in their 4-3 extra-innings victory over the Yankees, riding strong performances from Brooks Raley, Adam Ottavino, David Robertson, and Dominic Leone before walking it off in the 10th. They’re a man down (literally, they lose a roster spot) while Drew Smith is suspended, so things could get dicey in the next 10 days; thankfully, they benefit from having two off days during that stretch.
- The Cubs picked up holds from Michael Fulmer (4) and Mark Leiter Jr. (11) before their lead over the Pirates became too great. Adbert Alzolay pitched the ninth and retired the heart of Pittsburgh’s order to boot — combine that with his save on Friday, and it could be interpreted as Alzolay gaining a slight edge over Leiter in Chicago’s closer committee. But knowing this club, that could change at any moment.
- Josh Sborz was impressive for two innings (W, 3K, 1 BB, 0 H) in Texas’ 6-3 win over the Angels. Will Smith (1 IP, 2 H, 1 Shohei Ohtani moonshot) was not. Take this for what it’s worth, which is probably not much.
- Alexis Díaz collected a two-out save in Cincinnati’s 7-4 win over the Royals, number 17 on the season. He remains one behind Doval for the NL lead.
- A.J. Puk pitched the bottom of the 9th in a non-save situation for Miami, and he nearly blew it; a leaping catch at the wall by Jesus Sanchez was the only thing saving Puk from a game-tying Grand Slam. Instead, he got out of it with just one run allowed on a sac fly, and everyone went home happy (except for Mariners fans).
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)