Reliever Ranks – 5/29

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

 

• Six teams are off on Monday, including NYY, TOR, CHW, LAA, SEA, and CIN. So, I expected those bullpens to push their primary bullpen arms today.

 

• The Boston Red Sox placed Hansel Robles on the 15-day IL and optioned Hirokazu Sawamura; Ryan Brasier and Phillip Valdez took their spot in the bullpen.
• The Oakland Athletics optioned long-reliever Justin Grimm to the minors.

 

• The Milwaukee Brewers placed Luis Perdomo on the 15-day IL and recalled Miguel Sánchez from the minors.
• Tommy Kahnle of the Los Angeles Dodgers was transferred to the 60-day IL.

 

Yesterday’s Performances

 

• In a crosstown showdown, the Cubs topped White Sox by a final of 5-1. Scott Effross(H, 4) was electric and struck out three batters in his lone inning of work. Also, getting in on some action, Rowan Wick(1.0 IP, 2 H) and Mychal Givens(1.0 IP, 1 K) kept the scoreboard empty. Since Monday night, David Robertson hadn’t pitched, so he completed a scoreless frame with 19 pitches.
• Thanks to 6.2 innings pitched by starter Johnny Cueto, the White Sox only needed to utilize a couple of lower-leverage RPs.

 

• In the first game of the doubleheader, Washington put 11 runs on the board through the first four innings. Erasmo Ramírez(1-0) vultured the save in the fourth inning. Up by a handful late, the Nationals turned to Victor Arano(2 IP, 1 H, 1 K) and Carl Edwards Jr.(1.1 IP, 1 H, 2 K).
• The rest of the bullpen was crushed outside of Carlos Estévez(2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB) and Jhoulys Chacín(1.0 IP, 2 K). Robert Stephenson and Ashton Gordeau gave up multiple runs and drove their ERAs into unsavory territories.

 

• In the second game, Colorado was much sharper. But they also utilized setup Tyler Kinley(1.2 IP, 1 H, 3 K) in the seventh and eighth inning. Finally, Daniel Bard(S, 11) with a strikeout to claim their 21st victory.
• Washington only needed two RPs in this game; Kyle Finnegan(1.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 K) was charged with his first loss of the season. Steve Cishek also hurled a pair of scoreless innings.

 

• In the first game of BOS@BAL, the Red Sox didn’t need to use any bullpen arms as the starter went nine innings.
• Baltimore used Keegan Akin(2.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K) to keep the game close. However, he allowed a run in each of the innings he entered.

 

• Fully rested, the Red Sox emptied the bullpen for game two. Furthermore, the six RPs combined for six innings pitched with one hit, one walk, and three Ks. Making an appearance was Austin Davis, Ryan Brasier, Tyler Danish, Jake Diekman, Matt Barnes, and Phillip Valdez.
• Jorge López(S, 6) allowed an unearned run in a multi-inning save. But before his outing, Félix Bautista(H, 3) and Cionel Pérez(H, 4) only allowed three baserunners in two and a third inning of scoreless ball. Joey Krehbiel(2-3) vultured a win by making an appearance in the fourth inning.

 

• The Royals pitched Dylan Coleman(2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K) for the second time in two days. After Coleman, Josh Staumont struggled as he danced around two hits and a walk without allowing any runs. Additionally, Gabe Speier picked his second hold of the season while allowing a pair of hits and walking one. He allowed two runs to cross home plate, but they went against starter Brady Singer.
• The Twins tossed many of their high-leverage relievers in yesterday’s outing. So, they turned to two newly called-up arms in this one. Making a terrific appearance in the ninth inning, Tyler Duffey struck out all three batters and allowed one hit on 20 pitches.

 

• Jake Woodford(H, 1) piggybacked for Liberatore for the Cardinals. He hurled three innings and only allowed one earned run, a solo shot to Keston Hiura. Also stepping in was T.J. McFarland(1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 K), but he got lit up via the HR ball.
• The Brewers bullpen did its job throughout four innings by only allowing three base runners. Additionally, no earned runs were allowed. The most noteworthy arm used was Hoby Milner(1.0 IP, 1 H).

 

• After starter Taylor Hearn went six innings, the Rangers’ bullpen only needed three arms. Brett Martin(1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 K) was the only arm to allow a run. Albert Abreu and Garrett Richards combined for the final two scoreless innings. Additionally, Richards was pumping strikes, and 15 of his 19 pitches ended up in the zone.
• Austin Pruitt was the only bullpen arm that didn’t implode for Oakland. He tossed three innings of zero-run ball while allowing a pair of base hits.

 

• The Indians only needed to insert Emmanuel Clase(1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 2K) into this game. Although, he was a bit shaky and had difficulty picking up strikes. Still, he only tossed 20 pitches and will be available for tonight’s action since he hadn’t pitched since Monday.
•  Yikes! We shouldn’t speak about the Tigers’ bullpen last night. They allowed six earned runs in the final three innings, and Luckily, none of them were their high-leverage arms.

 

• Tony Santillan(1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 2 K) notched his third save in a multi-inning appearance. But before his outing, Luis Cessa(1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 K) and Alexis Díaz(1.0 IP, 2 K) earned a hold. Art Warren saved the game two nights ago? Tony Santillan saved last night? Yeah, who knows who will get the next in Cincy?
• As the Giants fell in this one, it wasn’t due to the bullpen. Dominic Leone(1.1 IP, 3 K) and Tyler Rogers(1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 K) kept the scoreboard empty for the final two innings.

 

• After an Alcantara gem, the Marlins confidently turned to Cole Sulser(1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K). He put on a shaky performance but picked up his second save of the season.
• Darren O’Day and Collin McHugh combined for two innings and allowed three earned runs. Locking down the 8th and 9th inning, Dylan Lee(2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 2 K) kept the Braves close, but the bats couldn’t pull through.

 

• As we’ve expected with the Rays, figuring out who will save the game is a mystery. Colin Poche(S, 2) threw a scoreless frame in this one. Jason Adams(H, 4) allowed a base hit but struck out a pair to preserve the game. Additionally, J.P. Feyereisen(4-0) vultured a win from Corey Kluber.
• The Yankees used Michael King(1.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER) in this one. However, he struggled to get strikes and looked a little shaky. He’s been terrific, so we’ll chalk it up to simply a rough night.

 

• Craig Kimbrel was ill for the Dodgers, and the team turned to Daniel Hudson(S, 3) in the ninth. He locked down the inning with a pair of Ks. Alex Vesia(1.0 IP, 1 BB, 2 K) and Justin Bruihl(1.0 IP, 1 K) collected hold as they both tout ERAs under three. Hudson has pitched back-to-back, and if Kimbrel is still unavailable; to at Graterol of Phillip Evans for a save.
• The Diamondbacks’ bullpen was on its game as well. Noé Ramirez and Joe Mantiply finished out the 8th and 9th inning without allowing a run to cross the board. Additionally, the pair only allowed one base runner while striking out two.

 

• The Mets handily won their 31st game by an 8-2 score. Adam Ottavino, Seth Lugo, and multi-inning RP Colin Holderman made scoreless appearances. The team needed a game like this since they used so many primary arms the previous night.
• After starter Zach Eflin imploded on the mound, the team turned to Connor Brogdon(1.0 IP, 1 K) and Seranthony Domínguez to simply make outs. The pair didn’t allow a base runner, and the bullpen is fully rested for tonight.

 

• Toronto elected to toss Jordan Romano for the third night in a row. However, the results suggest that it wasn’t a clever play. He walked a pair of batters in less than an inning and allowed an earned run. Ross Stripling collected the final out of the game to earn his first save of the season. With many of the high-leverage arms used a lot over the weekend action, perhaps Yimi García would get the shot at closing since he didn’t pitch on Saturday.
• For the Angels, the bullpen woes over the weekend continue. Aaron Loup was charged with a blown save as he allowed three base runners and an earned run. With an off-day on Monday, expect to see Ryan Tepera and Raisel Iglesias in any tight situations.

 

• David Bednar(1.0 IP, 1 K) notched his ninth save, and the ERA dips to a 0.75 mark after a spectacular performance. Anthony Banda(1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 2 K) was shaky but earned his first win.
• The big news of the game was about Taylor Rogers not converting the save. He allowed a three-run shot to Ke’Bryan Hayes, and the Pirates won by 4-2. Luis García(1.0 IP, 1 BB, 2 K) also earned his eighth hold of the season. Furthermore, that’s back-to-back night’s of work for Rogers and he probably sits Sunday out.

 

• The Mariners mowed down the Astros by a final of 6-0. The bullpen preserved starter Logan Gilbert’s gem by hurling two scoreless frames. Anthony Misiewicz(1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K) and Penn Murfee(1.0 IP) made appearances.
• After Urquidy sprinkled 12 hits over 4.2 innings pitched, the Houston bullpen had its work cut out for them. However, they responded pretty well. Bryan Abreu, Phil Maton, and Blake Taylor combined for 3.1 innings of scoreless ball while only allowing three base runners.