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 10 games on Monday with the following teams having a scheduled off day: TBR, BAL, NYY, CLE, LAA, SEA, OAK, ATL, PHI, and LAD. There were five blowout games settled by over six runs or more so many high-leverage relievers got the night off.
- There were no major transactions of note yesterday with the only movements involving low-level relievers, such as the Yankees optioning Greg Weissert, and the Mets optioning John Curtiss. Trent Thornton was called up to the Blue Jays and could be in line for a win out of the bullpen in bulk relief if the opportunity arises.
Yesterday’s Performances
COL 4 – CIN 5
HD: Fernando Cruz (1), Lucas Sims (11)
SV: Alexis Díaz (19)
- Colorado’s high-leverage arms kept the Reds at bay after Austin Gomber once again got knocked around through five innings. Daniel Bard’s ERA is now at just 0.79 after nearly 23 innings pitched this season, yet he still sits behind Justin Lawrence for save chances.
- Alexis Díaz remains perfect in converting save opportunities as he worked around two hits to notch his 19th save of the season. Back-to-back singles from Mike Moustakas and Jurickson Profar put runners at the corners with nobody out but Diaz bounced back with strikeouts of Randall Grichuk and Ryan McMahon before Elias Díaz grounded out to let Diaz off the hook. Still, being perfect is hard to do and Diaz has been elite this season.
TEX 5 – CWS 2
HD: Josh Sborz (7), Brock Burke (8)
SV: Will Smith (13)
- Similar to Diaz, Will Smith put two baserunners on after a hit and a walk but came through unscathed in the Rangers’ win over the White Sox. The veteran has now converted nine consecutive save chances and boasts an impressive 31:8 K:BB ratio over the season. Josh Sborz struck out two of the three batters he faced as he cements his role as the premier setup man.
- Closer Kendall Graveman pitched a clean inning to keep loose but the White Sox veteran does not have a save dating back to 9 June. There’s not much to shout about on the South Side right now as they slip to 3-8 over the past 11 contests.
KCR 4 – DET 6
SV: Alex Lange (11)
- The Tigers jumped on Taylor Clarke in the seventh inning with Kerry Carpenter’s three-run homer capping off a five-run frame to hand the Tigers the initiative. Jordan Lyles left after allowing runners at second and third with nobody out but Clarke gave up a single to bring two runners home before Carpenter’s two-out bomb. Clarke has been solid over the year but came unstuck as command issues that plagued his previous time with the Diamondbacks resurfaced.
- Tyler Alexander struck out four over two shutout innings to pick up the win in relief of rookie Reese Olson before Alex Lange shut the door in the ninth with a perfect inning. After Jason Foley picked up the pieces of Lange’s capitulation in Sunday’s game, Lange was forced into action due to Foley’s 28-pitch save in relief. Lange induced a couple of groundballs to end the contest and remains the poorer option in the ninth for the Tigers behind Foley.
STL 8 – WSN 6
HD: Génesis Cabrera (4), Giovanny Gallegos (7)
SV: Jordan Hicks (3)
- Three nights, three saves! Jordan Hicks completed the hat-trick with aplomb as he narrowly avoided giving up a lead-off homer before closing out the game with a strikeout of Lane Thomas. Hicks, who has had his fair share of injury issues, probably should not have been pitching for the third night in a row but at this stage the Cardinals need wins and will do anything to secure them. “If it ain’t broke…” Giovanny Gallegos pitched in a setup role for the second time in three days and reverts to the setup role in our chart with Hicks assuming the closer role. How could we not?
- The Nationals jumped out to a five-run lead in the second inning but failed to keep the Cardinals at bay as Josiah Gray got into all sorts of trouble in the fifth inning. Carl Edwards Jr. gave up a pair of walks to cough up two runs in the seventh inning to stretch the Cardinals’ lead. Closer Kyle Finnegan pitched the ninth after not pitching for four straight days.
SDP 4 – SFG 7 (10)
- The Padres used the preferred option of Steven Wilson and Nick Martinez to setup Josh Hader for two straight days so had to be creative if a save opportunity arose in this game. It did, and their answer failed miserably. Luis Garcia was handed the ball in the ninth to protect a 4-2 lead but gave up a lead-off walk, a single and a wild pitch to make it 4-3 before departing leaving runners on the corners with only one out. Drew Carlton then gave up a game-tying sacrifice fly before walking two straight batters to load the bases. Ray Kerr was then called upon to try and save the situation, which he did with a strikeout of Joc Pederson to send the game to extras. Mike Yastrzemski delivered a three-run walk-off homer in the bottom of the 1oth off Kerr to end a miserable night for the Padres.
- Closer Camilo Doval picked up his second win of the year after the Giants tied the game in the bottom of the ninth. Doval pitched a beauty against the top of the Padres order in the 10th inning despite intentionally putting Juan Soto on first to start the inning. A strikeout of Manny Machado preceded a groundout and a lineout to leave the Padres sweating. Doval has now worked out of two tricky situations over the weekend in a masterful way.
The best of the rest…
- Adrian Houser threw four innings in relief of Corbin Burnes, who gave up six runs in the first inning as his underwhelming 2023 took another dark turn. Miguel Castro and Joe Mantiply threw scoreless innings in relief of Merrill Kelly in a 9-1 rout.
- Hunter Browne was hit hard in the third inning to give the Mets a big lead which inspired them to an 11-1 victory. Debuting Astro Shawn Dubin was knocked around for five runs on seven hits in a rough first MLB outing.
- Luiz Arraez’s five-hit game loaded the misery on the uninspiring José Berríos, who recorded his fifth loss of the season and lasted just four frames giving up five runs on eight hits. Trent Thornton looked sharp in a couple of relief innings.
- Michael Rucker threw two scoreless innings as the Cubs shutout the Pirates 8-0 after Drew Smyly set the tone with five no-run innings. The Pirates gave up five runs in the late innings with Ryan Borucki and Yohan Ramirez with ugly outings.
- The ragged Twins bullpen gave the game away against the Red Sox after Jovani Moran was called upon to get the last out in the sixth after Pablo López struck out Pablo Reyes for the second out. However, Moran walked Rob Refsnyder before floating one over the plate for Alex Verdugo to smash down the line for a three-run triple to blow the game wide open. Triston Casas then homered off José De León to put the game beyond the Twins.
Bullpen Depth Charts
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)