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
- Only 11 of the scheduled 12 games were played on Monday as PHI and WSN was washed out. Teams with fresh bullpens going into today include BAL, TBR, HOU, SEA, STL, and ARI.
- Emmanuel Clase has been suspended one game for his part in the on-field brawl which saw Tim Anderson become instantly famous across social media. Trevor Stephan will be the primary option in the ninth for the Guardians.
- The Yankees bullpen gets some help with Jonathan Loáisiga returning from a long stint on the injured list. It is unlikely he is thrust back into late-inning duties immediately but you should keep an eye on his usage from the off.
Yesterday’s Performances
MIA 2 – CIN 5
HD: Lucas Sims (19)
SV: Alexis Díaz (33)
- Huascar Brazoban, Steven Okert, and Tanner Scott (the pick of the three) cleaned up the mess left by younger Eury Pérez after four and two-thirds innings. Scott looks to have slipped back from high-leverage use since the Marlins traded for more bullpen pieces at the end of games.
- Continuing his less-than-stellar month, Alexis Díaz walked the first two batters he faced before bouncing back to pull through a scoreless inning to register his 33rd save of the campaign. Diaz struck out Jesús Sánchez before inducing a groundball for a double play to end the contest. He has only blown one of his 34 save opportunities this season.
ATL 6 – PIT 7
HD: Ryan Borucki (2), Jonathan Hernández (5), Angel Perdomo (5)
SV: David Bednar (23)
- The Pirates jumped on Spencer Strider, who could not get out of the third inning, handing him just his fourth loss of the season. Michael Tonkin pitched well to get through some trouble before Pierce Johnson, A.J. Minter, and Raisel Iglesias all held the Pirates scoreless the rest of the way.
- Despite notching his 23rd save of the season and his 19th of his last 20 opportunities, David Bednar allowed a run for the second straight appearance after Michael Harris II walloped a ball down the line for a leadoff double. Still, Bednar had the stuff to escape the jam and limit the damage to just one run. He remains an elite closing option, with a 1.54 ERA and an impressive 56:13 K:BB through 45 appearances.
TEX 5 – OAK 3
HD: Aroldis Chapman (12)
SV: Will Smith (21)
- Wily veteran Will Smith made it four saves in four outings as he walked one and struck out one in a 5-3 win over the hapless Athletics. The Rangers rallied from a 3-2 deficit in the seventh and eighth innings to give Smith yet another save to add to an impressive 3.00 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, and 43:10 K:BB ratio in 2023. A nice bounce back from the much-traveled closer.
- Former Rangers reliever Kirby Snead combined with Dany Jiménez to undo all the good work Ken Waldichuk did in his six strong innings from the start. After Snead botched a routine catch at first base to allow the tying run, Jimenez then gave up two runs after a messy outing. There is no hope in Oakland.
TOR 3 – CLE 1
HD: Yimi García (13), Tim Mayza (18)
SV: Jordan Hicks (10)
- Acquired at the trade deadline, Jordan Hicks has notched two saves in his first two outings but neither has been particularly impressive. Hicks hit Andrés Giménez before Jose Ramirez singled. Hicks struck back forcing two outs before loading the bases and forcing yet another groundball, this time from young Brayan Rocchio to escape the jam. With Jordan Romano still out, Hicks seems to have the favor in Toronto.
- The Guardians let down young starter Gavin Williams, who allowed just one hit and one walk whilst striking out 12 over seven stellar innings. Enyel De Los Santos gave up a two-run bomb to Cavan Biggio before the Blue Jays added an insurance run in the ninth off Nick Sandlin.
NYY 1 – CWS 5
HD: Lane Ramsey (1), Brent Honeywell Jr. (4)
SV: Bryan Shaw (1)
- Tommy Kahnle pitched the lone inning in relief of Gerrit Cole, who gave up four runs across seven innings, striking out just three and giving up a two-run homer to Andrew Vaughn early in the game. The Yankees are now 12 and a half games back and sit at the bottom of the AL East.
- Yes, that Bryan Shaw! The veteran reliever notched only his 16th career save after needing just 13 pitches to strike out the side. The White Sox cleaned house at the trade deadline so it’s anyone’s game as to who regularly sees save chances on the South Side.
SFG 8 – LAA 3
HD: José Soriano (10)
SV: None
- Taylor Rogers picked up his sixth win of the season as the Giants rallied for six runs in the ninth inning against a beleaguered Angels team. Camilo Doval got an inning of work despite the non-save situation.
- A disastrous outing from closer Carlos Estévez lost the game for the Angels, who went into the ninth inning in a tied game. The closer has had a phenomenal season but it always felt like things were going to blow up quickly. Estevez allowed five runs on three hits and two walks recording just one out as he imploded in the ninth inning.
The best of the rest…
- Kenley Jansen picked up his third win of the campaign after pitching a clean ninth inning before watching Pablo Reyes smash a walk-off grand slam off Carlos Hernández, who moved to 1-7 on the season.
- Brent Headrick polished off the work done in seven fantastic innings by Pablo López as the Twins dominated the Tigers 9-3.
- Reliever-turned-starter Seth Lugo gave up eight runs on eight hits and couldn’t make it out of the fourth inning as the Dodgers piled the misery on the Padres in a 13-7 humiliation. The recently acquired Scott Barlow gave up a grand slam to Mookie Betts to effectively end the contest.
- Mets fans enjoyed their offense having a day against the Cubs, piling on the runs after Drew Smyly left to take the loss. Daniel Palencia gave up a three-run homer to Danny Mendick in the seventh inning to finish a sentence I didn’t think I’d be writing this year.
- The Brewers unloaded on the derisory Connor Seabold in the Rockies bullpen to the tune of seven runs over two innings as the game ballooned out to 12-1. The former Red Sox pitcher was left out to hang.
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)