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 15 games on Sunday, including four (!!) extra-innings contests. There are just 10 games scheduled for Monday, with 10 teams taking the day off between series.
- The Nationals are sending closer Hunter Harvey for an MRI on his right triceps on Monday, with an imminent IL stint reportedly “more than likely.” Kyle Finnegan is the next man on the bullpen totem pole in Washington, should Harvey miss time.
Yesterday’s Performances
ARI 5 – TOR 7
H: Tim Mayza (12), Trevor Richards (5), Yimi García (10)
SV: Erik Swanson (2)
- Suffice it to say, it was not a good weekend for Scott McGough. After allowing two runs on Saturday, McGough entered the 8th inning trailing by one run on Sunday and left it six batters later, trailing by four. He was charged with 4 ER. Andrew Chafin is lurking (not in a stealthy way, mind you. It’s Andrew Chafin we’re talking about. He’s hard to miss).
- The Blue Jays got good work from a host of relievers — basically, everyone not named Mitch White was great. White walked three batters in the 9th and nearly blew a 7-2 lead before Erik Swanson came in to clean up the mess (Jordan Romano was unavailable). Swanson did allow an RBI double before ending the threat with a pop fly, securing his second save of the year.
MIL 4 – CIN 3
H: Ian Gibaut (10), Fernando Cruz (2)
SV: Devin Williams (23)
- The Brew Crew capped off a sweep in Cincinnati thanks to a two-run 8th, which set up Devin Williams to earn his third save in as many days. The Brewers do have an off day Monday, so Williams should have time to recover as Milwaukee travels to Philly. It’s a well-earned break, as anyone who rosters Williams can attest — 4 IP, 4 SV, 7 K, 0.0 ERA is not a bad week.
- On the other side, Lucas Sims was the man charged with those two runs, but it was Alexis Díaz who came in and allowed the go-ahead knock in the 8th. His ERA hasn’t been hurt much, but Díaz has now served up at least one hit in six straight outings dating back to June. Sims, meanwhile, was tagged with his third blown save of the year.
CLE 5 – TEX 7
H: Enyel De Los Santos (8)
SV: Will Smith (16)
- Just like the Brewers, Texas benefitted from an 8th-inning rally to take the lead late on Sunday. In this case, Will Smith was the beneficiary, tossing a clean 9th with one single and one strikeout to earn his 16th save. This was good to see for Smith owners after Aroldis Chapman drew the closer assignment the previous day. It should be a pretty even split between the two of them for the time being, though Chapman’s arsenal is obviously more dynamic. Chapman is also the marginally fresher arm, so he would be deemed the favorite should another save opportunity arise on Monday.
- Trevor Stephan allowed five straight Texas hitters to reach in the 8th, and four of them scored, making this very likely his worst outing of the year. To be fair, the Rangers have been handing that to a lot of pitchers lately.
DET 0 – SEA 2
H: Matt Brash (10), Justin Topa (14), Andrés Muñoz (8)
SV: Paul Sewald (18)
- The Detroit bullpen fired a scoreless three frames, but it was all for naught. Rookie Mason Englert looked good, allowing just one baserunner in two innings and striking out two. Englert’s season-long numbers aren’t spectacular, but he has been a reliable innings-eater for the Tigers this year.
- The Mariners got five shutout innings from Bryce Miller in his IL return, followed by four more from the bullpen to earn the shutout. The Tigers didn’t send a single man to first base from the time Miller left until the 9th inning when Paul Sewald allowed a one-out single. Sewald struck out the side besides, nailing down his 18th save.
Best of the Rest
- David Bednar pitched in a non-save situation during Pittsburgh’s 8-4 extra-innings loss. He’s now worked on back-to-back days, so it’s possible he’ll be unavailable for Monday’s game against the Guardians, but not definite — he threw just 25 pitches between his two appearances this weekend.
- The Phillies and Padres both wore out their bullpens in their 12-inning marathon Sunday (12 innings feels like 15 in the Manfredball era). Craig Kimbrel, Gregory Soto, Josh Hader, and Nick Martinez were among the many arms used, with Hader recording a Manfredball Blown Save (1 H, 0 BB, 0 ER) in the 10th. Both squads have Monday to recover, so the bullpen impact should be minimal.
- The Yankees and Rockies followed a similar script in their 11-inning affair (all these innings are making me dizzy), with a total of 14 pitchers taking the mound in Denver yesterday. The Yankees do have a game Monday, which means Michael King could potentially get the nod for a save chance over the weary Clay Holmes, who was just charged with his third blown save (this one was earned).
- Stop me if you’ve heard this: the Mets and Dodgers went to extra innings on Sunday, and they used a lot of pitchers. David Robertson ended up going two innings and earned the win in the 10th after Luis Guillorme’s walk-off knock. Fun fact: that hit came off Nick Robertson, which makes this the first time the winner and loser of a game had the same name since probably-not-that-long-ago-I-don’t-feel-like-looking-it-up. Can you believe that?
- Atlanta deployed Raisel Iglesias and Kirby Yates (now the defacto #2, since A.J. Minter’s injury) just to get in work during their 8-1 loss to the White Sox since neither had pitched since before the break.
- 33-year-old MLB veteran Danny Coulombe picked up his first career save for the Orioles on Sunday, with both Félix Bautista and Yennier Cano unavailable. It’s a nice story, but don’t expect to see this again.
- Jhoan Duran also garnered a save on Sunday, his third in as many days vs. the A’s. Although really, it was A’s fans he was saving, because closing out a game means they don’t have to watch the A’s anymore. You know what I mean? Anyway, Duran is almost certainly out for Monday’s contest — look for Griffin Jax to step into the closer’s shoes today.
- Phil Maton earned a shaky save on Sunday with Houston’s top two relievers resting. The Astros are off Monday, but the Angels aren’t; we might see someone other than Carlos Estévez in the 9th inning Monday since he pitched the past two days. Matt Moore is their #2.
Bullpen Depth Charts
The Hold Up: Ranking the Top 100 Relievers for Holds Every Thursday