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
- It was one of the busier Mondays of the season despite two games being postponed due to inclement weather – KCR and CWS will play a doubleheader today as will NYY and BOS. DET and CIN enjoyed a scheduled day off while ATL and PHI played a doubleheader yesterday.
- The Cubs activated veteran reliever Michael Fulmer from the 15-day injured list and he returned with a bang by notching just his second save of the season. It is unlikely he sees regular opportunities, however despite being in the mix for late innings duties. Adbert Alzolay was placed on the 15-day injured list with a right forearm strain in a corresponding move.
- Veteran Padres reliever Tim Hill was sent to the injured list and the team activated high-leverage reliever Robert Suarez to take his place on the roster. He’ll slot in as a setup option.
- The Blue Jays upgraded their bullpen options with the return of Erik Swanson from the injured list.
Yesterday’s Performances
ATL 10 – PHI 8 (10)
HD: Joe Jiménez (12), A.J. Minter (18)
SV: Kirby Yates (4)
- Atlanta rolled out their high-leverage arms in the first game of the doubleheader with closer Raisel Iglesias blowing the save by giving up a two-run homer to superstar Bryce Harper in the bottom of the ninth. The offense answered back in extras and Kirby Yates took advantage of the save opportunity in the bottom of the 10th for his fourth save of the year and second in September. Earlier, Joe Jiménez got Dylan Lee out of a jam and A.J. Minter struck out two in an impressive eighth frame.
- José Alvarado couldn’t pitch a clean 10th and two hits brought in the zombie runner on second to give Atlanta the advantage. Orlando Arcia added some insurance with a double as Alvarado left a lot of the balls high in the zone for hitters to work with.
ATL 5 – PHI 7
HD: Jeff Hoffman (7), Matt Strahm (9), Gregory Soto (20)
SV: Craig Kimbrel (23)
- Jackson Stephens and Pierce Johnson pitched in multiple innings after starter Kyle Wright couldn’t make it out of the fourth inning. Atlanta was always playing from behind and used their lesser bullpen arms in the second game of the doubleheader.
- Veteran Craig Kimbrel allowed a two-out baserunner and allowed Ronald Acuña Jr. to the plate to make things interesting in the final frame with his team holding onto a two-run lead. Kimbrel did what he does best, however, and forced a groundball to end the contest and earn his 23rd save of the season. It was only his second save in September, however. Not ideal.
ARI 4 – NYM 3
HD: Sean Reid-Foley (3), Brooks Raley (24)
SV: Paul Sewald (33)
- Earning his value after being traded for near the deadline, veteran closer Paul Sewald registered his third straight save by striking out one and not allowing a hit despite walking two batters to make it interesting in the bottom of the ninth after the Diamondbacks took a lead in the top of the inning. Still, he got the job done and remains an elite option going into the fantasy playoffs.
- Impressive frames from Sean Reid-Foley and Brooks Raley were wasted as Trevor Gott was charged with a blown save after giving up a home run to Tommy Pham in the eighth inning. Drew Smith then took the loss by allowing a run on two hits, one a Ketel Marte RBI double.
TBR 7 – MIN 4
HD: Kevin Kelly (1), Jake Diekman (8)
SV: Pete Fairbanks (23)
- Another dominant outing for closer Pete Fairbanks, who worked around a hit-by-pitch to close out the game with 17 pitches. Fairbanks has now struck out 12 batters while converting five straight save chances during a scoreless streak of five and two-thirds innings. Lefty Jake Diekman pitched a clean eighth inning to notch his eighth hold of the season. A nice return to form for the veteran journeyman.
- After a disappointing short start from Sonny Gray, the Twins had to call on Josh Winder and Brent Headrick to eat up some innings. Headrick worked the bulk role, giving up two runs on four hits over two and a third innings.
CHC 5 – COL 4
HD: Justin Lawrence (10)
SV: Michael Fulmer (2)
- With Adbert Alzolay hitting the injured list and Julian Merryweather pitching three straight days coming into this game (Mark Leiter Jr. was also heavily used recently), freshly activated Michael Fulmer notched his second save of the season. It wasn’t clean by any means as he issued a lead-off walk and then threw a hit-by-pitch. He gathered himself to strike out Harold Castro and Brenton Doyle to end the contest, however.
- Closer Justin Lawrence pitched a clean eighth inning with the Rockies leading 4-3 but Tyler Kinley broke down in the ninth to hand the Cubs a one-run lead – Kinley allowed two runs on two hits and one walk to take the loss. It was his second save opportunity in the last few days and he was struggling once the first three hitters reached base with Yan Gomes coming through with a two-run blast to give the Cubs the lead. Kinley limited the damage by getting the next three outs without further scoring.
LAA 8 – SEA 5 (11)
HD: None
SV: Jimmy Herget (1)
- In an unlikely renaissance, Jimmy Herget continued his good run of four and two-thirds scoreless innings since he was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake and notched his first save of the season thanks to a perfect inning in extras against the Mariners. Herget got the nod after Carlos Estévez pitched both days over the weekend. Herget is unlikely to be a regular option for the stuttering Angels.
- Matt Brash and Andrés Muñoz both pitched clean innings in the eighth and ninth innings respectively but should be available out of the bullpen for today’s game. Munoz had injury concerns over the weekend and did throw 24 pitches so it may be Brash who gets the nod if the save opportunity arises today, to be honest.
The best of the rest
- Emmanuel Clase was charged with the blown save after failing to record an out as he allowed singles to both batters he faced as the Guardians lost 5-4 to the Giants in the bottom of the 10th inning.
- The Orioles used setup men Shintaro Fujinami and Danny Coulombe to preserve a healthy six-run lead going into the final frames. Yennier Cano threw 30+ pitches on Sunday so it was worthwhile that he got the extra rest.
- Jordan Weems bounced back from a miserable couple of outings as the Nationals beat the Pirates 6-2 on the back of a professional outing from Patrick Corbin. Weems and Jose A. Ferrer got the job done late for the Nationals.
- Genésis Cabrera gave up a grand slam to Jonah Heim in the seventh inning as the Rangers broke out to beat the Blue Jays 10-4 in a key wildcard matchup. Neither team ended up using their primary late-innings arms which was beneficial.
- Brandon Woodruff pitched a complete game shutout of the Marlins in a 12-0 win as the Brewers’ bullpen enjoyed a restful night.
- The A’s shut out the staggering Astros, who still got seven impressive innings from Framber Valdez. However, two electric innings from Mason Miller were backed up by six shutout frames from Ken Waldichuk. Miller struck out three across two frames and looked great.
- A nightmare ninth frame for Dodgers’ closer Evan Phillips, who gave up a three-run bomb to Juan Soto before Xander Bogaerts fired a solo shot to give the Padres a dramatic late lead. Josh Hader allowed a run after walking two in a non-save situation.
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)