Reliever Ranks – 7/11

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

 

• All 30 teams were in action on Sunday, with no double-headers.
• Twelve teams have the day off on Monday (BAL, NYY, TOR, MIN, HOU, LAA, SEA, WSN, CHC, CIN, MIL, and LAD).
• The Tigers and Royals are playing a double-header today, with the first game making up a rain-out from April. Regular starters are scheduled for each team in both contests.

 

• RHP Rico Garcia was promoted by the Orioles, taking the place of Bruce Zimmermann, who was optioned again after one relief appearance on Saturday.
• The A’s and Tigers demoted their Saturday starters, Zach Logue and Garrett Hill, and called up a couple of right-handers to replace them. Drew Carlton joins the fray for Detroit, while Domingo Tapia is now back in the Oakland bullpen.
• The Rays called up bulk reliever Josh Fleming in place of Jeffrey Springs, who hit the IL with a lower leg injury. They also recalled RHP Phoenix Sanders, who sported a quality 1.38 ERA in seven appearances this year before giving up three runs to the Reds on Sunday.
• The Rangers activated RHP Matt Bush from the IL, replacing Kolby Allard. Bush pitched a scoreless inning on Sunday to lower his season ERA to 3.90.
• RHP Jake Reed was designated for assignment by the Mets to open up a 40-man roster spot. He posted an impressive eight earned runs in just six and a third innings pitched this year.
• The Nationals activated RHP Hunter Harvey from the 60-day IL.
• The Rays and Pirates don’t yet have starters posted for Monday. Tampa’s likely to roll with Fleming in a bulk role, with the opener TBD. As for Pittsburgh, we expect to see Mitch Keller.
• Brayan Bello is due to get another opportunity for Boston today, and we’ll see if he can last longer than four innings this time. The same precaution should be extended to Spencer Howard and the Rangers, as always. Howard’s four innings in his last start was actually a season high.

LAA 5 – BAL 9

• Things continue to go from bad to worse for the Angels, as they dropped a fourth straight game and got swept by the Orioles. José Suarez was ineffective, lasting less than four innings. Elvis Peguero was equally ineffective in relief, allowing four runs to put the game out of hand by the fifth inning. Jaime Barria did solid work over the next three frames before José Marte pitched the eighth.
• For Baltimore, the eighth straight win was the sweetest yet; Austin Voth covered five frames to earn his first win of the year, followed by Dillon Tate, Bryan Baker and Rico Garcia for an inning apiece. Félix Bautista pitched a scoreless ninth in a non-save situation.

 

WAS 3 – ATL 4 (12)

• For the second time in three days, the Nationals bullpen had to cover the bulk of the game (this time following Paolo Espino). That amounted to a lot of innings, as the game stretched into the 12th before Austin Riley walked it off Jordan Weems. Andres Machado pitched a scoreless fifth, then Steve Cishek actually picked up a hold (his fifth) with the Nats leading 3-2 at the time. But Kyle Finnegan drew the blown save for allowing a home run to Riley, and Carl Edwards Jr. survived to got them to extras. Tanner Rainey came in and managed to hold off the Braves for two innings with a free runner, but the effort was in vain, as his offense couldn’t do anything either.
• Ian Anderson pitched into the sixth this time, but was handed a no-decision. Dylan Lee and Darren O’Day combined for an inning, then Tyler Matzek came in and cruised through the eighth. Jesse Chavez and Collin McHugh each pitched two scoreless innings in extras, with the latter earning his second win. Both pitchers (and possibly Matzek) should be unavailable on Monday, so Atlanta will be counting on length from Max Fried.

 

TB 5 – CIN 10

• This one got away from the Rays quickly, as Cincinnati scored seven runs off Shane Baz in the third. He was lifted for Phoenix Sanders, who allowed three more. Shawn Armstrong was the, ah, strong arm here, covering three scoreless innings in mop-up duty. Ryan Thompson also pitched.
• Nick Lodolo was staked to said seven-run lead, and he pitched well enough to cover five and earn the win. Dauri Moreta added two shutout innings, followed by Joel Kuhnel and Alexis Díaz.

 

MIA 2 – NYM 0 (10)

• Sandy Alcantara day is always a day of celebration, particularly for the Marlins bullpen, which has gotten used to taking it easy for his starts lately. The Sandy Man covered seven frames yet again (that’s 12 straight, if you’re counting at home), but he missed out on the win as neither team could muster a run until the 10th. Anthony Bass looked fine as the first man out of the pen, followed by Richard Bleier, who wound up with his first win. Tanner Scott bounced back to earn the save (his 12th), but he and Bass will surely be sitting today after both pitching in three straight.
• Taijuan Walker deserves credit for going toe-to-toe with Sandy for seven. Drew Smith and Edwin Díaz did their jobs to keep it tied, too, but Tommy Hunter blew it in the 10th. Díaz may be limited on Monday after pitching in back-to-back non-save situations, but he threw just seven pitches Sunday; and with the division lead on the line in Atlanta, I expect he’ll be ready if needed.

 

DET 2 – CWS 4

• Drew Hutchison threw six innings for Detroit and left in a tie game. Alex Lange pitched a perfect seventh. Then Michael Fulmer entered and ran into some tough luck, with one batter reaching on an error and the next intentionally walked. A.J. Hinch opted to yank him for Gregory Soto with two outs, and the Tiger closer allowed back-to-back RBI singles to slap Fulmer with the loss. Soto only threw nine pitches, so he should be fine for today’s twinbill.
• Michael Kopech was lifted in the sixth, and Jimmy Lambert finished the frame. Reynaldo López pitched a clean inning, and Kendall Graveman wound up with win no. 3 for his work in the eighth. As soon as Chicago took the lead, Liam Hendriks rolled up to collect his 17th save, his first since returning from the IL last week. It was a breezy nine pitches for him too, so he’s good to go today.

 

CLE 1 – KC 5

• Zach Plesac was less than crisp, allowing four runs in five innings to take the loss. Sam Hentges entered and allowed a run, followed by Enyel De Los Santos. Trevor Stephan and Nick Sandlin pitched the final two frames in a losing effort.
• The other side of this Zack-off (phrasing, I know) was Zack Greinke, who was solid for five scoreless to pick up another W. The four-run difference robbed Jose Cuas, Dylan Coleman and Taylor Clarke from picking up holds, though they were all solid. Joel Payamps pitched the ninth.

 

PIT 8 – MIL 6

• José Quintana failed to finish the fifth, meaning Chris Stratton was able to swoop in and snag his fifth win for Pittsburgh. Manny Bañuelos, Duane Underwood Jr. and Wil Crowe all picked up holds, but a three-run top of the ninth prevented David Bednar from earning a save. He entered anyway, and served up a two-run homer to Andrew McCutchen. No harm done, but Bednar may be unavailable on Monday.
• Trevor Gott followed Eric Lauer with a two-run sixth, which went down as a blown save at the time. Jandel Gustave and Brent Suter came next, with the latter throwing 28 pitches in nearly two innings. Chi Chi González gave up two more runs in an unmemorable ninth.

 

PHI 3 – STL 4

• This was a back-and-forth affair, with the decisive run coming in the eighth. Nick Nelson pitched the first two innings for the Phillies, followed by Jeurys Familia and Christopher Sánchez, who was credited with a hold after three innings pitched in a 3-1 game. Andrew Bellati took a blown save after allowing Sánchez’s runners to score in the seventh. Seranthony Domínguez took the loss for allowing the go-ahead run on a sac fly.
• Andre Pallante allowed 10 baserunners in five and two-thirds, but ended up with a no-decision. Johan Oviedo got them through the seventh, and Jordan Hicks earned the win (his second) for his scoreless eighth. Ryan Helsley collected his seventh save with a perfect ninth. That makes four-plus frames he’s now thrown in as many days, so if a save opp arises tonight, there’s good chance Giovanny Gallegos is the guy.

 

MIN 6 – TEX 5

• This was pretty textbook for the Twins, who took a 5-4 lead after Dylan Bundy exited in the sixth and held on the rest of the way. Caleb Thielbar (9), Griffin Jax (8) and Jhoan Duran (10) all earned holds, though Duran gave up a homer to Corey Seager that cut it back to one. Tyler Duffey was called upon for his second save, which was more a product of the opposing lineup than anything else. Still, as always, it’s a situation to monitor.
• Dane Dunning was shellacked early, forcing Texas to turn to Matt Moore and Brock Burke to get through the sixth (side note: what’s the record for most alliterative pitchers used in a row?). The final three frames went to Matt Bush, Joe Barlow and Garrett Richards, none of whom factored into the decision. Richards threw just 16 pitches, so he could still be used to eat innings today if Spencer Howard doesn’t last.

 

HOU 6 – OAK 1

• Jake Odorizzi was dominant for seven innings, striking out seven and earning the win. Phil Maton and Bryan Abreu were the only Houston relievers used, with Maton allowing a homer for the only blemish of the day.
• Not to be outdone, the A’s used even fewer pitchers in the loss. Cole Irvin covered the first six frames, then Austin Pruitt took it the rest of the way (albeit taking a few lumps). Shoutout to Mark Kotsay for always making this a breezy bullet point.

 

COL 3 – ARI 2

• The good Germán Márquez showed up and delivered seven quality frames to pick up the win on Sunday. Alex Colomé followed with his fifth hold, and Daniel Bard nailed down his 18th save.
• Tyler Gilbert was excellent for five and two-thirds, but Keynan Middleton let him down in the seventh and took the loss. Joe Mantiply is someone I only recently found out existed, but he pitched well in this game, and apparantly he’s going to be an All-Star. Keep up the good work, Joe! Also, someone named Kyle Nelson made an appearance.

 

CHC 9 – LAD 11

• Not exactly a pitcher’s duel. Despite being staked to a five-run lead before throwing a pitch, Drew Smyly lasted just two innings for the Cubs. Matt Swarmer mat(t)ched him with four more runs in the third, followed by Mark Leiter Jr., who ended up being slapped with the loss and a blown save, which I think is a little unfair. Anderson Espinoza covered three innings, and Chris Martin and Rowan Wick finished it off.
• For L.A., Julio Urías‘ rough start was compounded by Phil Bickford in the third, but the Dodger bats came through with six runs in the bottom of that inning to give Bickford the win. That meant holds for everyone who came after, namely: Yency Almonte (5), Caleb Ferguson (4), Alex Vesia (8) and David Price (3). Notably, Brusdar Graterol captured his third save with two innings of shutout ball. Weird game.

 

SF 12 – SD 0

• Alex Wood was lights-out for seven frames. Yunior Marte covered the last two. Easy-peasy.
• San Diego was put in a deep hold by MacKenzie Gore’s brutal outing (3.1 IP, 8 ER), and they obviously never recovered. Tayler Scott and Dinelson Lamet combined to get through the next five innings, and Matthew Batten finished it off. The Padres bullpen will be well-rested come Tuesday.

 

TOR 5 – SEA 6

• Toronto held a 4-1 lead in the fifth inning of this games, but it did not last long. Max Castillo’s effort was wasted when David Phelps allowed two runs to cross after an error, and Tim Mayza manufactured another the following inning to tie the game. The Blue Jays took the lead again in the seventh, only for Adam Cimber to blow it on Carlos Santana’s second homer of the game, making it 6-5. Trevor Richards replaced him, but the damage was done.
• Seattle got six mediocre innings from Logan Gilbert, and one decent inning from Penn Murfee that was spoiled by a Bo Bichette home run. Matt Festa wound up with his first win of the year, and Paul Sewald closed out his 10th save. That’s eight straight Ws for the Mariners, and another notch in the belt for #TeamSewald.

 

NYY 6 – BOS 11

• Sunday’s nightcap certainly delivered on offense. Jameson Taillon’s night fell apart in the fifth for New York, with their four-run lead reduced to nothing by the time he was done. Aroldis Chapman was inserted in a tie game in the sixth, and he allowed a run that probably shouldn’t have scored (DJ LeMahieu, what happened?), but allowing multiple walks is not a recipe for success. In other words: Clay Holmes‘ job is safe for now. Later on, Miguel Castro got lit up for four runs without recording an out, one of his worst appearances of the season. Albert Abreu tossed the final two frames without incident.
• Nick Pivetta was similarly ineffective, lasting just over three innings. The Red Sox turned to the unlikely duo of Kaleb Ort and Hirokazu Sawamura to get them to the eighth, and the latter collected his first win of 2022 with two shutout innings. Matt Strahm and Ryan Brasier were efficient in the last two frames, combining to throw just 20 pitches. They may be limited on Monday, but the Sox have options.

 

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