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 only six games scheduled on Thursday, but only five games actually occurred. The Tigers and Guardians were rained out and will now play a doubleheader today. All five games featured a save.
- The Mariners promoted righthander Eduard Bazardo from Triple-A Tacoma and optioned Ryder Ryan to the minors. Bazardo appeared in three MLB games this season for the Orioles before he joined the Mariners. Ryan only pitched in one game for Seattle, last Friday, striking out two batters in a scoreless inning.
- The Royals called up Jackson Kowar from Triple-A Omaha to rejoin the Kansas City bullpen. Kowar’s still finding his footing in the majors, as he has a 6.17 ERA and 1.89 WHIP on the season. He appeared in eight games earlier this season. James McArthur started as the Royals’ opener in Wednesday’s game, but was sent back to Triple-A to accommodate Kowar’s promotion.
Yesterday’s Performances
SEA 6 – KC 4
HD: Taylor Hearn (1), Trent Thornton (1)
SV: Matt Brash (4)
- Isaiah Campbell (3-0) got the win in the Mariners 6-4 victory over the Royals on Thursday, pitching a scoreless seventh inning in relief duty. He allowed one hit and struck out one. After Campbell departed, Trent Thornton pitched a scoreless inning of his own, earning him his first hold of the season. Matt Brash then got the save chance for Seattle and struck out one to earn his fourth save. Brash got the call instead of Andrés Muñoz, who blew the save during Tuesday’s game.
- For the Royals, Taylor Hearn earned his first hold in 2023 despite an outing that lasted only a third of an inning and two earned runs surrendered. Carlos Hernandez was hit with the loss and fell to 1-8 on the season. He blew this third save when he allowed a home run to Julio Rodríguez in the eighth.
NYM 4 – STL 2
HD: Grant Hartwig (2), Drew Smith (11)
SV: Trevor Gott (1)
- Brooks Raley and Adam Ottavino both pitched on Wednesday so it was Trevor Gott who received the save opportunity on Thursday against the Cardinals. Gott gave up two hits in the ninth inning, but escaped with the save. He last saved a game on August 8, 2020 as a member of the Giants. Drew Smith and Grant Hartwig picked up holds for the Mets.
- St. Louis starter Adam Wainwright departed after the sixth inning, so the trio of Andre Pallante, Drew VerHagen, and John King went the rest of the way for the Cardinals.
ARI 3 – SD 1
HD: Kyle Nelson (8)
SV: Justin Martinez (1)
- The Diamondbacks beat the Padres 3-1 in an NL West showdown. Diamondbacks closer Paul Sewald had appeared in two straight games and four times in five days, so rookie Justin Martinez stepped in for the ninth inning save chance. Martinez, who was pitching in his fifth career game, walked two batters, but did enough to earn the four-out save. Kyle Nelson struck out three over 1.1 innings to capture his eighth hold.
- The only Padres reliever to appear was Pedro Avila. He pitched four scoreless innings of long relief.
BOS 7 – WSH 10
HD: Andrés Machado (3), Hunter Harvey (12)
SV: Kyle Finnegan (19)
- In his second game back since being activated from the injured list, Hunter Harvey picked up his 12th hold of the year and lowered his ERA to 2.98 in the process. Kyle Finnegan came in for the ninth inning and locked down his 19th save of the season. He’s been locked in during August, with a record of 2-0, three saves, and a perfect ERA this month. With Finnegan playing so well, expect him to continue to see the majority of save chances even with Harvey’s return. Andrés Machado also picked up a hold for the Nationals.
- The Red Sox bullpen had a rough game with each reliever giving up earned runs. Josh Winckowski allowed four hits and three earned runs in only 0.2 IP. After he departed, Chris Murphy came in for the sixth inning and also allowed three earned runs. Mauricio Llovera pitched the rest of the way for Boston, going two innings and giving up an earned run.
MIL 0 – LAD 1
SV: Evan Phillips (18)
- Not many relievers were needed in this game as starters Corbin Burnes and Lance Lynn each had seven-inning outings. For the Brewers, the only other pitcher who appeared was Joel Payamps. He fell to 4-3 on the year after allowing the only run of the game.
- Evan Phillips earned the save for the Dodgers as he walked one and struck out two in the ninth inning. Phillips is 18 of 20 in save opportunities and has six holds and a 2.54 ERA on the season. Caleb Ferguson got the win and moved to 7-3 with a scoreless eighth inning.
The best of the rest…
- Only five games yesterday so everything was covered above!
Bullpen Depth Charts
The Hold Up: Ranking the Top 100 Relievers for Holds Every Thursday