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
- Ten teams were off on Thursday, including BOS, TB, TOR, DET, KC, LAA, TEX, NYM, WSH, & ARZ. For the most part, the bullpens from these teams should be good to go today, although the Rays have worked theirs hard lately.
- All 30 teams are scheduled to play today, provided there are no weather-related postponements.
- Sam Moll was activated from the COVID-19 IL yesterday by the A’s and should again be an option for holds. Domingo Tapia was optioned to make room for him, and we bumped fellow lefty Kirby Snead out of the Oakland bullpen hierarchy.
- Cubs long-reliever Daniel Norris hit the IL with a finger injury, and Adrian Sampson was recalled to take his spot on the roster. We slot Alec Mills in as the long man for now, though he’s struggled mightily since coming off the IL earlier this month.
- The Yankees sent Clarke Schmidt down to Triple-A despite pitching effectively for them this season. Manny Bañuelos was slotted in at long reliever in his place.
- Seth Lugo was reinstated from the paternity list and should resume his role as a late-inning option for the Mets. We dropped Tommy Hunter from the hierarchy with Lugo’s activation.
Yesterday’s Performances
ATL 7 – SF 6
- Kyle Wright didn’t have his best stuff but still managed to get into the sixth inning and take home the win, thanks to his offense. Jesse Chavez relieved him with two men on in a 7-4 game and struck out Austin Slater and Mike Yastremski to get out of the inning without further damage. Chavez pitched the seventh as well and earned a hold for his efforts. Will Smith followed in the eighth and Kenley Jansen in the ninth to close the game out. Both gave up runs but still were credited with a hold and a save, respectively. Smith has gone back-to-back and thus may not be available tonight.
- Alex Wood couldn’t get an out in the second inning and was finally replaced by Zack Littell with five runs already on the board for Atlanta and two men still on. Littell allowed only one more run to plate before getting out of the jam and proceeded to pitch two more innings. Jarlín García and Sam Long covered the sixth through the ninth for San Francisco without surrendering a run.
LAD 10 – CIN 5
- Clayton Kershaw turned the ball over to Phil Bickford in the seventh inning with an 8-1 lead. Bickford, however, did his best to allow the Reds back into the game, highlighted by Tommy Pham’s tenth HR of the year. Yency Almonte had to replace him with only two out and managed to finish the inning. He also covered the eighth and earned a hold. David Price pitched a scoreless ninth after the Dodgers re-extended their lead.
- The Reds stuck with Hunter Greene until the sixth despite his allowing three HRs and six earned runs. Cincinnati used five relievers to cover the final four innings, most of whom weren’t much more successful than Greene. Included in this parade were Jeff Hoffman, Luis Cessa, Ross Detwiler, Hunter Strickland, and Art Warren. Only Cessa and Strickland weren’t charged with runs and faced a combined four batters. The Reds head to San Francisco with several tired arms.
PIT 8 – CHC 7
- After establishing a nice lead behind starter José Quintana, the Bucs’ bullpen gave it all away. The trouble started in the eighth when Wil Crowe gave way to Yerry De Los Santos with the bases loaded and one run already in. De Los Santos proceeded to allow a two-run single to Nico Hoerner, a walk, and another single to Alfonso Rivas before the inning ended with the Pirates now down by a run. After Pittsburgh tied the score in the eighth, David Bednar threw a scoreless ninth. Chris Stratton pitched the tenth and got the win when the Buccos scored in the bottom of the inning.
- The Cubs turned to Rowan Wick with two out in the sixth and Justin Steele on the ropes. Steele had already given up six runs (five earned) and couldn’t close out the inning. Wick needed only three pitches before ending his night. Chris Martin pitched a scoreless seventh, and then the Cubs turned to David Robertson with the heart of Pittsburgh’s order coming up in the eighth. Michael Chavis homered on the first pitch he saw, tying the game. After throwing a 1-2-3 ninth, Scott Effross came out on the losing end in the tenth when Chavis put on more heroics with a walk-off single. As Robertson has gone back-to-back, Wick or Mychal Givens could be in line to steal a save tonight should the opportunity arise.
MIN 1 – CLE 0
- Four Minnesota pitchers combined to shut out the Guardians, led by starter Devin Smeltzer, who picked up his fourth win. After Joe Smith pitched a scoreless seventh, Rocco Baldelli went to Jhoan Duran in the eighth. Duran stayed on to start the ninth but left after striking out Franmil Reyes. Presumably, to take advantage of a left-on-left matchup, Baldelli put in Caleb Thielbar to face Andrés Giménez. The strategy almost backfired after Gimenez doubled; however, Thielbar retired the next two batters to earn his first career save. We don’t expect this to be a regular occurrence, but it does indicate that anything goes in the Twins bullpen.
- Zach Plesac made one mistake, a HR to Nick Gordon, and it cost him the game as the Guardians’ offense couldn’t muster a run. Trevor Stephan and Enyel De Los Santos pitched scoreless innings in relief of Plesac.
SEA 2 – OAK 1
- A great pitcher’s duel went the Mariners way late as they rallied in the ninth for a come-from-behind victory. Robbie Ray looked like he might be a hard-luck loser after allowing one run over six innings, but the offense came through for him. He was followed by clean innings from Andrés Muñoz, Diego Castillo, and Paul Sewald. Castillo got the win as the pitcher of record when the Mariners mounted their comeback, and Sewald earned his fifth save of 2022.
- The A’s wasted a dominant start by Frankie Montas, who tossed eight shutout innings allowing only two hits and two walks. Zach Jackson came on for the save opportunity but was replaced by A.J. Puk with two outs and two men on via walks. Puk walked Kevin Padlo to load the bases, then threw a wild pitch which tied the game. After another walk and another wild pitch, the Mariners went ahead to stay without getting a hit in the inning. It’s been that kind of season in Oakland.
MIL 6 – STL 4
- Jason Alexander made it into the sixth inning for Milwaukee before being pulled in favor of Brad Boxberger. Alexander didn’t pitch great, allowing four earned runs, but did leave the game with the lead. That lead turned into a win as the Brewers bullpen did its job well. Boxberger finished the sixth and completed the seventh to earn his 15th hold of the year. Devin Williams followed and notched his 17th hold while Josh Hader closed it out for his 21st save.
- The Cardinal’s starter, Dakota Hudson, was bitten by the long ball. Tyrone Taylor hit a three-run bomb off him in the fourth, and Willy Adames added a solo shot an inning later. Hudson hit the showers soon after, with Junior Fernández relieving him. Fernandez, Zack Thompson, Drew VerHagen, and Nick Wittgren covered the final three and 2/3 innings, with only VerHagen running into trouble. He lasted only three batters, giving up a single and two walks.
MIA 3, COL 2
- Braxton Garrett got the start for the Marlins, and though he gave up nine hits in four and 2/3 innings, he only surrendered two runs (one earned). His seven strikeouts undoubtedly helped to bail him out of a few spots. The recently called-up Zach Pop replaced him in the fifth and, along with Anthony Bass, Steven Okert, and Tanner Scott, shut the Rockies down. A late rally gave Okert the win in relief, and Scott struck out the side in the ninth to earn the save.
- Kyle Freeland pitched well, throwing seven innings and only allowing two runs. Alex Colomé replaced him in the eighth, and four batters later, Miami pulled ahead to stay after a couple of singles and a forceout. Okert has pitched three nights in a row, so it’s doubtful he’ll be available today.
NYY 7 – HOU 6
- The Yankees added another chapter to their magical 2022, scoring four in the ninth to shock the Astros. Jameson Taillon got the start for them and had a rough night, allowing a pair of 3-run HRs to Alex Bregman and Yordan Alvarez. New York’s bullpen picked him, though, as the trio of Lucas Luetge, Albert Abreu, and Miguel Castro covered the final three and 1/3 innings without further damage. Castro got the win as the pitcher of record in the ninth when the Bombers mounted their comeback.
- Houston was looking good heading into the bottom of the ninth inning. Framber Valdez gave them six solid innings while Héctor Neris and Rafael Montero earned holds in the seventh and eighth. In came Ryan Pressly and his 14 saves to finish the game off. But it was not to be. After a couple of walks, Aaron Hicks took Pressly deep to tie the game. A couple of hits, a walk, a strikeout, and a caught stealing attempt later, Aaron Judge stepped to the plate. Judge smacked a single to left on a 3-0 count to end the game. Ryne Stanek had replaced Pressly by this point, but he still took the loss and blown save. After throwing 26 pitches last night and 14 on Wednesday, Pressly will surely have tonight off. Montero, Stanek, and Neris have also pitched back-to-back, so the Astros could use a strong start by Justin Verlander tonight.
BAL 4 – CHW 0
- The Orioles pitched a combined shutout behind starter Dean Kremer, Félix Bautista, Dillon Tate, and Jorge López. Kremer earned the win, pitching into the sixth before giving way to the pen. Bautista and Tate earned holds, while Lopez picked up his twelfth save of the year after having to bail out Tate in the ninth. Baltimore’s bullpen has been quite good this season.
- White Sox starter Johnny Cueto didn’t pitch poorly but did allow three runs over five and 1/3 innings. A Ryan Mountcastle RBI single was the final straw for Tony LaRussa, who replaced Cueto with Reynaldo López. The next batter, rookie Adley Rutschman, doubled in another run for his third RBI of the game (he hit a 2-run HR in the fourth). Lopez settled down after that, and the ChiSox got a scoreless eighth from José Ruiz. Jimmy Lambert took over in the ninth and gave up another run, which turned out to be nice insurance for Baltimore.
PHI 6 – SD 2
- Ranger Suárez pitched into the eighth and won his sixth game of the year for Philadelphia. Seranthony Domínguez replaced him after the Padres put men on second and third with one out. Dominguez got out of the inning after allowing only one runner to score. Brad Hand came on in the ninth and retired the side in order.
- Joe Musgrove was activated from the Covid-19 IL prior to the start and proceeded to throw his worst game of the year. Most of the damage came in the sixth when Musgrove allowed two HRs to J.T. Realmuto and Kyle Schwarber, giving the Phils a 6-1 lead. Craig Stammen and Tim Hill covered the final three innings cleanly, but the Padres couldn’t muster a comeback.
Bullpen Depth Charts
Also, if you’re looking for a detailed list or ranking of RPs, check out Rick Graham’s weekly pieces:
The Hold Up 6/16: Ranking the Top 100 Relievers for Holds
Closing Time 6/21: Ranking the Top 40 Closers
Top 100 Relievers for Save+Hold Leagues: 6/17
Photos by Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Doug Carlin (@Bdougals on Twitter)