Welcome back to the newest 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
- Daniel Duarte (CIN) transferred to 60-day IL (shoulder)
- Sean Poppen (ARI) placed on 10-day IL (shoulder)
- San Diego and Tampa Bay leaned extremely hard on their bullpens on Saturday; saves and holds could be largely dependent on how deep their starters go today.
Yesterday’s Performances
- Camilo Doval scored himself a save for the Giants and had not thrown in the three days prior. A trio of holds were tallied courtesy of Dominic Leone, John Brebbia and Tyler Rogers, each posting a scoreless frame. Rogers was the top performer, collecting two strikeouts in a no-hit eighth inning. Manager Gabe Kapler will still have the services of Jake McGee fresh for Sunday and McGee hasn’t pitched since Wednesday where he recorded a 23-pitch save.
- Washington put together a dominant final third of Saturday’s ballgame with a scoreless, hitless inning from Francisco Perez, Tanner Rainey and Kyle Finnegan. The closer Rainey hadn’t pitched since Tuesday and the Nationals still haven’t posted a save or hold since then, but their relief staff has posted a decent ERA in the mid-threes during that time. Rainey only threw 12 pitches on Saturday so he could easily be in line for a save today.
- Colorado and Detroit suited up for a day/night doubleheader after rain postponed the Friday series opener. Detroit needed little help from relievers in Game 1, winning 13-0, but they saw great performance from Wily Peralta in his third appearance of the year (3 2/3 IP, 0 ER on the season). Game 2 fell 3-2 in the Rockies’ favor but Detroit saw four innings of no-hit relief, headlined by Drew Hutchison’s two frames of five-strikeout work. Gregory Soto and Michael Fulmer were not used on Saturday, so the Tigers’ A-list bullpen remains a lot more rested than 18 innings on Saturday could suggest.
- The Rockies did not call upon closer Daniel Bard on Saturday in a save situation, instead handing the Game 2 opportunity to Alex Colomé against his former divisional foe. He did not make it look easy — he allowed two earned runs in a three-run game, prompting setup man Carlos Estévez to start getting loose with one out remaining. Colomé eventually put the finishing touches on an ugly save, while the normal closer Bard has not thrown since Tuesday.
- The Yankees came out on the winning side of Saturday despite turbulent late innings. Chad Green pitched a two-run, three-hit eighth inning and was credited with a blown save. Green allowed two earned runs in his previous appearance, breaking a streak of 5 1/3 scoreless frames to start the year. Miguel Castro was called upon in the ninth with his team trailing by one; he tossed a scoreless inning with a strikeout prior to the Yankees walking it off. Clay Holmes helped close out the final two outs of the seventh inning and only threw 12 pitches, so the front end of the Yankees bullpen could be in line for serious holds and a save on Sunday.
- Emmanuel Clase failed to complete the ninth inning by way of a 2/3-inning, two-earned run showing, blowing his first save of the year. He had tossed three consecutive scoreless innings prior to Saturday. Tyler Stephan and Anthony Gose are fresh again today, having not thrown since Thursday and Wednesday respectively. Cleveland saw holds from middle relievers Bryan Shaw and Nick Sandlin on Saturday, but they likely aren’t in prime hold position like Stephan and Gose are.
- Pittsburgh tossed the lowest-leverage work of the year on Saturday in their 21-0 defeat. There is minimal to say about Pirates relievers on Saturday; David Bednar and Chris Stratton hovered around 20 total pitches each on Friday and with a Pirates off day on Monday, they could be in line for an appearance today.
- The Cubs shut out the Pirates on three hits, and their pitchers had plenty of rest between innings as their offense put on a clinic. Sean Newcomb and Scott Effross pitched a scoreless inning after seven shutout frames from Kyle Hendricks. The top-end trio of David Robertson, Mychal Givens and Rowan Wick have been rested since Thursday, so expect some strong availability from Cubs relievers on Saturday.
- All Minnesota relievers were able to work with an eight-run (or more) lead on Saturday, a welcome sight for closer Emilio Pagan after throwing 34 pitches on Friday (and nine on Thursday). Twins relievers combined for four innings of two-run work on Saturday, and given the recent work from Pagan, they could call upon Jhoan Duran for a save situation today. Joe Smith also remains rested having not thrown since Thursday.
- The White Sox trailed 7-0 after four innings and Liam Hendriks hadn’t thrown in a full week. He was called upon in the ninth and the only batter to reach did so on a dropped third strike. Otherwise it was a rather forgettable showing from Chicago relievers; the three arms other than Hendriks combined for 3 2/3 innings of four-run work. Hendriks tossed 16 pitches and could be available again today, while the White Sox have Monday off. He also hadn’t thrown for six days prior, so he could be shelved until Tuesday.
- Milwaukee relievers slammed the door shut on Saturday; they preserved a two-run lead in the final three innings of their contest with the Phillies. Josh Hader is now the outright leader in NL saves with seven; he did so with a perfect ninth inning. Setup man Devin Williams threw just nine pitches in a scoreless eighth inning while Hader threw 11 of his own, so the Brewers are in a great position with them available again today and Corbin Burnes starting on Monday.
- Philadelphia relievers pitched in four innings of one-run work on Saturday but only one reliever (Cristopher Sánchez) tossed more than 2/3 of an inning. Top options Corey Knebel and José Alvarado should be fresh again today after tossing a combined 40 pitches on Friday. Andrew Bellatti is building traction as a reliever to watch, posting three scoreless innings on the year with five strikeouts and a 0.67 WHIP.
- Oakland played host to a pitcher’s duel on Saturday as Frankie Montas was the only pitcher to give up a run. (He also tossed 7 1/3 innings in a pretty solid showing.) The A’s hardly tapped into their bullpen and their top arms remain untouched since Thursday.
- Texas pitching allowed just three hits on Saturday and only one of them came from their relievers. Brock Burke swiped himself a one-inning win and his ERA is now a solid 2.35 through 7 2/3 innings, so his stock could be on the rise as the Rangers move forward. Matt Bush was called upon for a save instead of Joe Barlow; it was Bush’s first appearance since a 25-pitch blown save on Thursday. He responded with a perfect ninth and his 15 pitches suggest Barlow will be the save candidate today if the situation presents itself.
- St. Louis relievers pitched with a four-run lead all day on Saturday. Andre Pallante continued his hot debut season and lowered his ERA to a 1.42, while Kodi Whitley now has 4 1/3 innings of scoreless work under his belt this year. St. Louis pretty much emptied their A-list reliever tank on Friday while closer Giovanny Gallegos threw 20 pitches (46 since Tuesday; three appearances in five days), so the team might get a little creative today and could save Gallegos for Monday at the earliest.
- Cincinnati tossed five relievers for a combined 4 2/3 frames, allowing a combined three earned runs on five hits. Closer Lucas Sims made his season debut and returned from the injured list on Saturday, but tossed a forgettable sixth inning while allowing two runs on two hits. Art Warren and Tony Santillan have gone virtually untouched this week; they could find themselves in prime save or hold territory, should Cincinnati bats perform a little better today than Saturday.
- Toronto worked without the services of MLB save leader Jordan Romano (8) on Saturday after he collected saves in consecutive days (38 total pitches). There was still holds galore for the Blue Jays reliever core; setup man Yimi Garcia hadn’t pitched since Tuesday and earned himself a hold with two strikeouts in the eighth inning. Adam Cimber was called upon in back-to-back days on Saturday, collecting his first save of the year despite allowing two baserunners in a high-leverage, one-run ninth. Toronto does not have the luxury of an off day on Monday, so it could easily be middle relievers like Julian Merryweather and Trevor Richards in line for holds today. David Phelps was a notable Saturday performer, striking out two of the three hitters he faced and lowering his season ERA to a 1.59 (5 2/3 IP).
- Two of the three closer-by-committee candidates in Houston — Ryne Stanek and Héctor Neris — pitched in the Astros’ one-run loss on Saturday. Stanek worked a scoreless 1 1/3 innings while Neris tossed a scoreless, one-hit ninth. Rafael Montero could be in line for a save opportunity today, while Neris has now pitched in back-to-back games.
- Taking a no-hitter into the 10th inning, Tampa Bay worked a team of six relievers on Saturday. Leading ‘closer’ candidate Andrew Kittredge tossed a scoreless eighth and ninth, lowering his season ERA to a 1.13 over eight frames. There were no saves or holds to be had despite one of the best reliever performances of the year to date. Starter J.P. Feyereisen pitched just two innings.
- Boston countered with a dominant reliever performance of their own, coming up just short after the team’s offense came up big in the 10th. Hansel Robles blew his first save of the year but none of the three runs he allowed were earned. Robles worked on back-to-back days and can be ruled out of Sunday’s action, while Jake Diekman and Matt Barnes will be prime save and hold candidates for Sunday’s series finale.
- 16 total runs were scored between Miami and Atlanta on Saturday and eight of them were tabbed to relievers. The Marlins closed it out with 3 2/3 hitless frames, however, while Tanner Scott earned his first save of the year. Miami saw holds from Anthony Bass and Cole Sulser, while Sulser tabbed two strikeouts and lowered his season ERA to a 1.42 (6 1/3 IP). Anthony Bender could be in line for a rebound performance today after taking a loss on Wednesday.
- Atlanta saw the rare double blown-save ballgame on Saturday; Collin McHugh allowed three runs in the sixth inning while recording just one out, while Spencer Strider allowed three runs in the seventh without recording an out. The Braves stopped the bleeding with Will Smith in the seventh; he was credited with zero runs and stranded one of the two that McHugh left on. Kenley Jansen is in prime save territory on Sunday as the Braves will look to rebound, and Smith could be in line for a hold after only throwing seven pitches.
- Arizona relievers were virtually lights-out on Saturday, combining to allow just three hits in four innings with five strikeouts. This all happened without the services of closer Mark Melancon after pitching on back-to-back days. Joe Mantiply was the ninth-inning guy on Saturday, pitching his seventh-consecutive scoreless appearance (6 2/3 IP).
- The Mets worked six innings of one-run work with a largely understaffed reliever core. Adonis Medina struck out the side in the eighth in his first appearance on the year, while Adam Ottavino allowed the only run in relief — but also posted three strikeouts in 1 1/3 innings. Ottavino’s season ERA is now a 1.50. Edwin Díaz and Trevor May might not be available today due to high recent pitch counts, and the Mets are one of the 14 teams that are scheduled to play this Monday.
- San Diego leaned on the service of closer Taylor Rogers on Saturday in his first appearance since Monday (25-pitch save). He allowed two hits in 1 2/3 innings, but was credited with a tough-luck blown save due to inherited runners scoring. His ERA remains a perfect 0.00 through 6 2/3 innings of work this year (0.60 WHIP). Steven Wilson was credited with a hold after a scoreless seventh inning; he now holds a 1.23 ERA through 7 1/3 frames. The Padres burned through virtually all of their top relievers on Saturday, so it could make for an interesting Sunday if they find themselves in another close ballgame.
- The Dodgers went to work with a team of six relievers on Saturday night, allowing a single unearned run in the 3-2 loss. Daniel Hudson and Craig Kimbrel were not used — Kimbrel hasn’t thrown since Monday — but the Dodgers have otherwise established themselves in prime territory for holds no matter who stands on the mound. Saturday was no exception and there could have been holds galore if the score cooperated. Brusdar Graterol tossed a scoreless eighth and holds a 0.00 ERA/0.88 WHIP through 5 2/3 innings this year.
- Baltimore held on to a one-run lead on Saturday without using their primary setup guys. Jorge López collected his fourth save of 2022 with a scoreless, two-strikeout ninth. Dillon Tate, Paul Fry and Felix Bautista were not used, while López could find himself recovering until at least Tuesday with Baltimore’s anticipated off day on Monday.
- Aaron Loup took a tough-luck loss with three unearned runs (0 ER) in 2/3 of an inning. Ryan Tepera followed with a tough-luck blown save, allowing no runs of his own but allowing all three baserunners he inherited. This proved to be the difference in Saturday’s contest; the Angels will have a well-rested Raisel Iglesias available today after three days of rest, but it could otherwise be Archie Bradley acting as a setup guy this afternoon.
- Saturday’s nightcap featured a combined 20 runs between the Mariners and Royals; Seattle came out on top but burned through a lot of their top available relievers. Diego Castillo is in line to serve as the primary acting closer with Paul Sewald on the COVID-IL right now; Castillo picked up a win on Saturday night and lowered his season ERA to a 2.57 through seven total innings this year.
- Kansas City was forced to pitch six total innings of relief after starter Kris Bubic only tossed two innings. Amir Garrett was the Royal’s top performer, posting a scoreless frame with two strikeouts. (Garrett has not allowed a run through 4 1/3 IP this year.) Setup man Josh Staumont blew a save in the seventh inning, however, allowing one run on two hits and a walk. The evening plummeted from there, however, with Jake Brentz allowing five earned in just 1/3 of an inning. Kansas City will have a well-rested Scott Barlow for Sunday after three days of rest, but they could otherwise be leaning on a deep start.
<>Jalen BeeksPete Fairbanks, Nick Anderson
Photos by Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Doug Carlin (@Bdougals on Twitter)