Reliever Ranks – 7/7

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

 

• Two teams, the Mariners and Padres, had Wednesday off to rest their relief arms. Today, six teams, TB, CLE, MIN, TEX, OAK, and MIL, will receive a day to off to give their bullpens a break.
• Additionally, a doubleheader will take place in Cincinnati between the Pirates and the Reds. If you’re looking for a matchup to stream for holds, this is as good a bet as any because many relievers will be used on both sides to get the teams through two games. Jeff Hoffman is probably the best option on the Reds while Chase De Jong is an interesting choice on the Pirates given his ability to toss multiple innings.

 

• The Chicago White Sox placed bulk reliever Vince Velasquez on the 15-day IL with a blister on his right index finger. Jimmy Lambert was the corresponding call-up and will fill his role on the chart.
• Long reliever Wily Peralta was placed on the 15-day IL by the Detroit Tigers. He is dealing with a strained left hamstring. Will Vest was called up from the minors to replace him on the 26-man roster, but the new multi-inning pitcher on the chart will be left-hander Tyler Alexander.

 

• The New York Yankees activated right-hander Miguel Castro from the restricted list. The move will bump left-hander Lucas Luetge a rung down the holds ladder and off the reliever chart.
• Yerry De Los Santos of the Pittsburgh Pirates was removed from the COVID IL. The right-hander will make his way back onto the chart as a holds option, bumping out lefty Cam Vieaux.
• The Toronto Blue Jays sent bulk reliever Trent Thornton to Triple-A Buffalo. Right-hander Casey Lawrence was recalled and will take over his role of eating multiple innings when the going gets tough or an opener is utilized.

 

• There is no scheduled starter for the second game of the Reds’ doubleheader and for the Blue Jays in Seattle. If a regular rotation member is not named prior to those matchups beginning, a vulture win could be had if it’s a bullpen game or an inexperienced starter. For the Reds, their whole bullpen will be tested, so Reiver Sanmartin could be asked to go for the second day in a row, but I could just as easily see a 27th man being recalled to eat some innings. For the Blue Jays, the previously mentioned Casey Lawrence lines up as the logical innings-eater in a game of this nature.
• More traditional win-vulturing opportunities lie in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Queens. Bailey Falter is the scheduled starter for the Phillies facing the Nationals and threw just four innings in his most recent start, giving Nick Nelson a shot at swiping a victory. Chase Silseth lines up to take on the Orioles after having not pitched in the Majors for a little over a week. In his last appearance, he failed to survive the fifth, and if the same were to happen today, Jaime Barria could benefit from good timing. Lastly, the Mets are turning to Trevor Williams to start their game against the Marlins. He has combined for just six frames across his last two outings which could set Drew Smith up for stealing a win, as he is the most-rested reliever in the bullpen.

 

Yesterday’s Performances

 

CLE 2 – DET 8

• A day after both squads used position players on the mound, the game was much closer once the bullpens jumped into action. The Guardians utilized a trio of their most electric relievers to negative effects. At first, Eli Morgan was able to cleanly finish off the starter’s sixth, but the two flamethrowers that followed him weren’t as fortunate. James Karinchak allowed two runs in the seventh because batters laid off his curveball and attacked his fastball that wasn’t missing bats. A maintenance inning was afforded to Emmanuel Clase with the off-day coming today. The only hit he allowed was a home run off the bat of Kody Clemens, but he made up for it by striking out two hitters and logging the second-fastest pitch of the day with a 101.3 mph cutter.
• Handed a three-run lead in the sixth, the Detroit bullpen was lights out and easily secured the victory. Before the lead grew to six, Alex Lange and Michael Fulmer were able to record holds. Lange nabbed his 11th and lowered his ERA to 2.01 (31.1 IP) and Fulmer dropped his ERA to 2.03 (31 IP). The latter is now tied for 5th in the Majors with 15 holds. Andrew Chafin and Will Vest successfully closed out the final two innings without incident, giving the Tigers their 34th win of the season.

 

MIN 8 – CWS 9

• High-scoring games that end in extras are usually exciting, especially in terms of bullpen usage. The Minnesota starter survived just four frames, leaving six innings for his bullpen to make up. It wound up being too much for them to handle. Emilio Pagán was the first arm out of the pen, seeing some usage in a low-leverage spot after losing his grasp on the closer role. He continued his slide, giving up two runs on a dinger by Luis Robert that tied the game, pushing his ERA to 5.34 (28.2 IP). I don’t see him reclaiming the closer role any time soon. The score was held by Caleb Thielbar in the sixth, but Griffin Jax would blow his third save in the seventh, giving up three hits with no help from his defense as the White Sox tied it up once again. Minnesota’s offense was not deterred, however, as they reclaimed the lead, but they seemed completely dejected when Trevor Megill blew his first save, letting Chicago tie it up again on an Andrew Vaughn homer. Working the ninth, Jhoan Duran was able to maintain the tie, unleashing the fastest pitch of the day – a 101.5 mph four-seamer. However, in the 10th, Jovani Moran permitted the zombie runner to score the walk-off run when Leury García knocked him in with a single. Fortunately for all of these pitchers, they will get today off and it will be welcomed with open and exhausted arms.
• Despite a couple of hiccups, the South Side bullpen was much more fortunate. The first man up was Reynaldo López, as he tossed a clean sixth. The next two arms faltered slightly due to the long ball. Kendall Graveman surrendered a go-ahead home run to Jorge Polanco in the seventh and Matt Foster gave up a tie-breaking two-run shot to Gio Urshela in the eighth. Luckily, Liam Hendriks is no longer injured and was up to the task of pitching without the benefit of a save coming his way, as he pushed the game to extras with a perfect, two-strikeout ninth. José Ruiz wound up clutching his first win of the season following his hitless frame when his offense walked it off. Hendriks should be available to add to his 16 saves today after tossing just 13 pitches on Wednesday.

 

CHC 2 – MIL 1

• A low-scoring affair between division rivals led to some enticing bullpen usage. The Cubs began their relief work with Jared Hughes, as he finished off the starter’s sixth. He was followed by Chris Martin who tossed a scoreless seventh, securing four whiffs on seven cutters to rack up two strikeouts. The eighth was covered by Mychal Givens who took home the win to move to 5-0 on the season after his team grabbed the lead in the top of the final frame. With that newfound lead, David Robertson closed out the ninth flawlessly for his 12th save. The 37-year-old veteran right-hander has been quietly dominant this year, flaunting a 1.89 ERA (33.1 IP) and his most saves since he closed out 14 ballgames for the White Sox and Yankees in 2017. Having worked four out of the last six days, he may need some respite today, but with the Cubs most likely looking to trade him at the deadline at the end of this month, they have no reason not to ride him until his arm falls off as long as they don’t injure him before shipping him out.
• A dominant outing from their starter was not enough for the Brewers to take home a win. Brad Boxberger blew his fifth save in the eighth and was forced to ask Trevor Gott to finish his inning. Things went even more downhill when Josh Hader surrendered a run in the ninth to give the Cubs the lead. He had given up just two runs all year entering the final week of June and has now allowed a run in back-to-back appearances and three across his past six outings. This bullpen is usually lights out and Hader is the most dominant reliever in baseball, so I don’t believe this is the start of a trend. The Brew Crew relief corps will get a day off to get their heads right before taking on the Pirates over the weekend.

 

TOR 2 – OAK 1

• Just two relievers were needed for the Blue Jays to secure a tightly fought win. Adam Cimber tossed two perfect innings to secure his eighth (!) win of the season. He has the most wins by a reliever by far, with the second-highest reliever wins total owned by Diego Castillo who sits alone with six, ahead of three relievers with five. The ninth, as is commonplace, was pitched by Jordan Romano as he was awarded his 18th save for his perfect frame. That ties him for fifth in the Majors in that category, but despite what that number would suggest, Romano has not been as good as he was last year. His FIP is 1.34 runs higher than it was last year because of a 6.2% reduction in his K%, a 0.6% increase in his BB%, and a 5.5% downgrade to his ground-ball rate. The right-hander has also lost a full tick off his heater. Pitching for a great team with no clear competition, Romano will be one of the best saves options in fantasy baseball, but I think he is outside of the elite tier because of his reduced effectiveness.
• As a Bay Area sports fan, I had hoped the A’s would be able to hold onto the one-run lead they had entering the seventh, but when James Kaprielian was extended into the seventh, I knew it wasn’t going to be a celebratory night. He faced just one batter in that frame, surrendering a long ball to former teammate Matt Chapman before being removed. Now, it was up to the bullpen to maintain the tie game. Sam Moll successfully salvaged the seventh, setting down all three batters he faced, but Domingo Acevedo wasn’t as successful in the eighth, as he watched Bo Bichette send a ball into the stands. He was saddled with his second loss of the year. Austin Pruitt and Kirby Snead worked together to finish the ninth before calling it a night. The A’s have the day off today and will have the luxury of resting their relief corps.

 

NYM 8 – CIN 3

• When your starter can’t survive the fourth against the worst team in the National League, you can get pretty down on yourself. The Mets, however, didn’t let that ruin their mood as the bullpen made up for the poor outing and the offense refurbished a deficit into a win. Adonis Medina was the hero of the bullpen as he ate three frames to take the load off of the rest of the arms, pushing the game to the seventh. He struck out four batters without a runner touching home plate, earning six whiffs on 49 pitches with a 33% CSW. Colin Holderman finished Medina’s seventh and tallied a perfect eighth, dropping his ERA to 2.63 (13.2 IP). Adam Ottavino followed with a perfect inning of his own, striking out two batters, and earning his third win when the offense exploded in the 10th. Even with a five-run lead, Edwin Díaz was called upon to close it out. He struck out all three batters he faced, extending his lead on the K% leaderboard, as his 49.6% strikeout rate is now 5.7% higher than anyone else in baseball. He tossed just 13 pitches and will be available for a save opportunity today.
• It appeared to be smooth sailing for the Reds after they pushed the game to the ninth with a slim one-run lead. Joel Kuhnel and Reiver Sanmartin earned holds number one and two respectively with their two combined scoreless frames. As has been the case in recent weeks, Hunter Strickland was called upon to shut down the game in the ninth. A Brandon Nimmo single and a Starling Marte double resulted in a run and Strickland’s second blown save. Then, in the tenth, Dauri Moreta wasn’t comfortable and allowed the Mets to storm ahead, scoring five runs all culminating in a three-run bomb by Nimmo. Moreta was handed his second loss and the Reds moved to 28-53. Strickland has worked each of the last two days and three out of the last four, setting up Jeff Hoffman or Luis Cessa to get some work in the ninth in either (maybe both) legs of today’s doubleheader.

 

LAA 5 – MIA 2

• If Shohei Ohtani is on the mound, you’re gonna have a good shot at a win. He cruised through seven frames and handed his lead to Ryan Tepera who pitched a hitless eighth to keep the ball rolling. The momentum halted in the ninth, as Raisel Iglesias gave up a run, but he was able to work around it to secure the victory. Maybe he was just giving up a run to give himself a shot at a save (sorry Raisel, it doesn’t work like that) because he’s been used in numerous non-save situations recently. He only has two saves in his last eight outings because of his usage, so hopefully, the Angels can hand him some close games soon so fantasy managers don’t start getting antsy before league trade deadlines get closer. The right-hander will be available for a save opportunity today after tossing 19 pitches on Wednesday.
• If Shohei Ohtani is on the mound against you, however, it’s going to be a rough night. The Marlins called upon three relievers after their starter exited. Zach Pop finished the starter’s fifth and pitched a scoreless sixth. He dropped his ERA to 2.89 (9.1 IP) with the outing and has been pretty reliable in his limited Major League sample. Bulk reliever Tommy Nance did what he does best and pitched multiple frames (two to be exact). Unfortunately, he may have been under the impression that his job entails him to surrender multiple runs as well because he also did that. Richard Bleier worked a hitless ninth in what was otherwise an uneventful bullpen performance.

 

TEX 1 – BAL 2

• Just as I predicted yesterday, Glenn Otto lasted just five frames, but with his offense scoring just one run, there was no shot at a vulture win for the two relievers that pitched who I also suspected would have the opportunity. Brock Burke and José Leclerc combined to cover the final three frames in the loss. The former was perfect, moving his ERA to 1.09 (41.1 IP), the third-lowest mark among pitchers with at least 30 innings pitched and the best mark among pitchers who have tossed at least 40 frames. The latter was unscored upon across two innings, giving him back-to-back scoreless multi-inning outings. He got off to a poor start in his return from Tommy John surgery, hence the 6.43 ERA (seven IP), but he looked strong on Wednesday, earning four whiffs on 15 sliders and topping out at 96.4 mph with his fastball. It may take some time, but he will be factoring into the back end of this bullpen at some point this season. Closer Joe Barlow had blown saves in each of the past two games, so a deficit was sort of a relief, but I think he’s on thin ice, especially with so many outside options to turn to. The Rangers have the day off to rest their relief corps today.
• The slimmest of margins was held by the Baltimore bullpen. A one-run lead handed over to Bryan Baker in the middle of the seventh frame was maintained as he notched an out in each of the seventh and eighth to earn his fourth hold. Cionel Pérez finished off the eighth to earn his 10th hold. He owns the best ERA on his team, with his even 1.00 mark (27 IP) rating out as the fifth-lowest among pitchers with at least 25 innings pitched. The ninth was closed out by soon-to-be first-time All-Star Jorge López. He worked around a hit while striking out two to lock down his 14th save. It was a welcome bounceback as he seemed to be hitting a wall, surrendering five runs across his past three outings. Despite the recent struggles, he still owns a 1.83 ERA, a top-15 mark among pitchers with at least 30 frames. He may need some rest after pitching in four of the last six days, so look for Félix Bautista or Dillon Tate to take over if a save situation arises today.

 

WSH 3 – PHI 2

• The Nationals bullpen was unhittable on Wednesday. No seriously, they failed to give up a hit. Holds were awarded to Carl Edwards Jr. (sixth hold) and Kyle Finnegan (12th hold) as they maintained a one-run lead. The former has been pretty impressive in his time with the Major League club, pitching to a 3.60 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP with 30 strikeouts in 30 innings, bouncing back from a disastrous 2021 campaign. Speaking of bouncebacks, Tanner Rainey recovered from back-to-back outings earlier in the week during which he took a blown save and a loss. He was much better on Wednesday, pitching a perfect ninth for his 12th save. His struggles stem from his propensity to lose his command at times and his reliance on fly balls. Sometimes he walks the yard or gets into trouble by leaving pitches over the middle of the plate to be crushed, and because he surrenders so many balls in the air when batters make contact, it can often leave the park. He should hold onto the closer role for the foreseeable future, but I wouldn’t turn down a reasonable trade offer for the right-hander, especially considering his lackluster 1.32 ERA and his situation on a team that doesn’t win a lot of games. Having pitched in three of the past four days, Steve Cishek may need to fill in for him in the ninth today.
• Only four outs were covered by the Philadelphia bullpen. José Alvarado finished off the starter’s eighth and Corey Knebel worked the ninth. The latter has been doing an incredible job of regaining his manager’s trust, and he could soon be factoring into save situations if the Phillies don’t acquire a lockdown closer at the deadline. Across his last 6.2 frames, he hasn’t allowed a run, has permitted just three baserunners and has struck out six batters. If you’re really desperate for saves, it might be time to start speculating on Knebel returning to the role by the end of the month.

 

NYY 16 – PIT 0

• This roundup should be self-explanatory. A massive blowout always leads to one of two things: maintenance work or position-player-pitching. The Yankees chose option number one and gave some work to relievers that needed it. Three relievers pitched and only one hitter reached base (via a walk). Wandy Peralta was itching for action, having not pitched since Saturday, and was perfect in the seventh, dropping his ERA to 2.08 (30.1 IP). An unheralded reliever because of his lack of dominance, Peralta has been effective despite a sub-20% (19.3%) strikeout rate. The eighth was pitched by Aroldis Chapman who continues to get into a groove on the mound after sitting out for a month with an injury. This was his first time working in back-to-back days since his return, and it was definitely a situation to test his mettle. Finally, Albert Abreu pitched a hitless ninth with two punchouts to finish off the blowout win. The Yankees are his third team this season, and so far, he has pitched to a pristine 0.00 ERA across his first 5.2 innings in pinstripes. Closer Clay Holmes will most definitely get some work today since he last pitched on Saturday.
• If the Yankees chose door number one: maintenance work,  then the Pirates were forced to open door number two: position-player-pitching. They didn’t immediately throw in the towel, calling upon three relievers before doing so. Tyler Beede allowed a run on a Kyle Higashioka homer in the seventh before things really got out of hand. Manny Bañuelos surrendered five runs while securing just a singular out, with most of the damage coming from an Aaron Judge grand slam. Chris Stratton stopped the bleeding, but even if his offense had supported them with any runs, it was going to be out of reach anyway. With a 10-run deficit, Josh VanMeter toed the rubber and proceeded to give up another grand slam, this time to Aaron Hicks, before serving up a nuke to Giancarlo Stanton. The infielder topped out at 84.1 mph and bottomed out at 54.8 mph. The Pirates won’t have to deal with the Bronx Bombers anymore, but they will have to survive a doubleheader today, so the ability to rest their top arms yesterday was beneficial.

 

TB 7 – BOS 1

• There was no need for the A-listers to be used here. Instead, the Rays turned to Calvin Faucher for a scoreless seventh, Shawn Armstrong for a one-run eighth, and finished things off with a perfect ninth from Matt Wisler. The first two own ERAs over 6.00, but Wisler exited the game with a 2.68 mark (37 IP). It would be a career-low for him in a full season if he can finish this year the way he’s started it. The classically overworked bullpen will take the time to rest their throbbing arms with a day off from baseball today.
• With the debut of Brayan Bello not going as planned, the Red sox needed four relievers to cover five frames to get the game over with. Jake Diekman was first and failed to allow a hit in the fifth. He dropped his ERA to 2.73 (29.2 IP), the third-lowest mark in his team’s bullpen and he pairs it with the second-highest strikeout rate (30.5%) among his relief mates. The sixth was covered by Hirokazu Sawamura, but he wasn’t able to control the ball like he usually does, serving up four walks and a hit, resulting in two runs. Austin Davis pitched a flawless seventh before handing the ball over to Tyler Danish for the final two frames during which one run scored on a Randy Arozarena long ball. Davis might be the most underrated member of the Boston arm barn, sporting a 2.23 ERA across 32.1 frames while rocking a 26.5% strikeout rate. If the Red Sox face a team with lots of left-handed sluggers in the playoffs, they will be well equipped to handle them. Closer Tanner Houck hasn’t worked since Sunday and could be in line for a maintenance outing today.

 

STL 0 – ATL 3

• Cardinals relievers pitched two perfect frames, but it wasn’t enough as they couldn’t contribute anything to their offense’s struggles. Zack Thompson and Giovanny Gallegos each worked in this one. Thompson lowered his ERA to 2.70 (20 IP), revealing how impressive the 24-year-old rookie has been pitching out of the bullpen after coming up through the minors as a starter. Having not pitched since last Wednesday, Gallegos was in dire need of some action. He got some and moved his ERA to 2.90 (31 IP). It’s a bit surprising to see him almost completely removed from save opportunities, especially given the fact his 2.59 FIP is the lowest of his career and the rest of his numbers are right in line with years past. I think he starts to get more late-inning chances, and this week-long lull in usage was likely a planned break to keep him fresh for a team that has playoff aspirations and will need him often in the second half and beyond. Now, the other half of the closer committee, Ryan Helsley, could need some maintenance today, having not pitched since Saturday.
• The Braves bullpen was provided an ideal three-run lead to register some decisions. Holds were awarded to Darren O’Day and Jesse Chavez for their scoreless frames across the seventh and eighth. O’Day was credited with his fifth hold while Chavez earned his sixth. At 39 years old, O’Day is one of the elder statesmen among relievers, but he is still chugging along in his 15th MLB season. The sidewinder’s 4.18 ERA (19.2 IP) would be his most-bloated in a season since 2011, but he has still been a constant presence in the middle innings of ballgames and sports the fourth-highest K% of his career at 30.1%. To close things out, A.J. Minter was called upon this time. He notched his second save of the season, and second since Kenley Jansen landed on the IL, as a result of his scoreless ninth. He will likely continue to switch off with Will Smith for closing duties, but will probably be favored more as a high-leverage arm because of his dominance this season. He owns the sixth-lowest ERA (1.80, 35 IP) among pitchers with at least 35 innings pitched and his 34.6% strikeout rate is a top-10 mark in the Majors (min. 30 IP).

 

KC 7 – HOU 4

• Taking down the vaunted Astros was a tall task and required a team effort. The Royals called upon three relievers for holds. The starter’s sixth was finished by Jose Cuas who nabbed his fifth hold in the process. His 1.93 ERA (14 IP) is the lowest in the Kansas City arm barn. Dylan Coleman followed with a perfect seventh, also earning his fifth hold. The last reliever to pitch before closing time was Taylor Clarke. He tossed a perfect inning of his own to notch his eighth hold and send the game to the final frame. Locked in closer Scott Barlow pitched a scoreless ninth with two strikeouts to secure his 13th hold of the season. He is unlikely to be traded at the deadline, given the fact that he won’t be a free agent until after the 2024 campaign, but he could net quite the return because of his effectiveness (2.39 ERA, 37.2 IP) and years of control. The right-hander has pitched in three of the last four and four of the last six days, so there is a chance he defers a save chance to Amir Garrett to receive some much-needed rest.
• I wouldn’t have expected the Astros to use their top-flight relievers when looking at the final score, but that’s exactly what they did on Wednesday. There was no game on the line, but the deficit was small enough that manager Dusty Baker wanted to give his dangerous offense a shot at coming back. Bryan Abreu and Ryne Stanek gave them a shot, combining for three scoreless frames, but Héctor Neris had other plans in the ninth, surrendering two runs on three hits. Stanek has been nearly untouchable this season and his 0.63 ERA (28.2 IP) speaks to that as it is the second-lowest mark in the Majors among pitchers with at least 25 innings pitched. Run prevention at this level is hard to maintain, but even with some regression, Stanek will finish the season as one of the league’s most effective relievers. Closer Ryan Pressly may need some work regardless of the score today, considering the fact he hasn’t thrown since Sunday.

 

SF 7 – ARZ 5

• A late-inning comeback afforded the San Francisco bullpen some high-leverage action. The seventh inning was pitched by both Jarlín García and Mauricio Llovera. Then, John Brebbia pitched a perfect eighth and was rewarded for his flawless outing with his fourth win upon the offense’s comeback. In the ninth, Camilo Doval nearly put all of the offense’s hard work to waste by walking three batters and giving up a hit to push a run across, but Sam Long came aboard to save the day and earn his first career save. As his name suggests, Long is typically used as a swingman, covering multiple frames. He is having a much better season than he had in 2021, posting a 1.78 ERA across 30.1 IP, preventing runs at a better rate than the likes of Edwin Díaz, David Robertson, and Jhoan Duran. A mediocre 15.8% strikeout rate portends regression in Long’s run prevention skills, but he should continue being a key member of this pitching staff in multiple capacities. Doval used 37 pitches on Wednesday and has pitched back-to-back days, so he will most definitely make way for Jake McGee to vulture a save today.
• If the Giants had a late comeback, then who had a blown save? It wasn’t Kyle Nelson. He grabbed his sixth hold by finishing off the starter’s seventh. He also dropped his ERA to 1.73 (26 IP), a top-15 mark in the Majors (min. 25 IP). We solved the mystery. Joe Mantiply was the man wearing the blown save mask. It was his third of the year and he was also saddled with his second loss. It was the result of two hits concluding with a Darin Ruf game-tying home run in the eighth and a hit-by-pitch to start the ninth that would come around to score under the watch of Sean Poppen. Poppen also surrendered a couple of runs of his own in his lone frame. This was a rest day for Mark Melancon and Ian Kennedy is on the IL, so maybe all of our hemming and hawing about Melancon being a waste of the closer role was unfair because the rest of this bullpen might be just as incapable.

 

COL 1 – LAD 2

• A one-run lead heading into the seventh was blown as a result of the starter being overextended. From there, the Rockies bullpen had to do its best to maintain a tie against one of the best teams in baseball. They were unable to do so. Jake Bird blew his first save when he allowed the starter’s inherited runner to cross home. Nonetheless, the out he got reduced his ERA to 1.86 (9.2 IP) in his limited MLB sample. Alex Colomé was able to keep the score at 1-1 with a scoreless eighth but it was wasted when Daniel Bard couldn’t get anyone out. It started with a single to lead off the ninth, then another single with the runner moving to third. The third hitter, a pinch-hitter, was walked to load the bases, and then all it took was a Mookie Betts groundball single through the left side to walk it off. Bard was saddled with his third loss for the performance but will be given every opportunity to bounce back today if needed, having tossed just 14 pitches on Wednesday.
• I guess both of my premonitions about vulture win opportunities were semi-true. In the Rangers game, I was correct in my belief that the starter wouldn’t last more than five frames and I predicted both relievers that pitched, but there was no win opportunity because of the offense’s inability to score. In Los Angeles, it was pretty similar. I was correct in believing that the starter wouldn’t last long, but he did turn in the lengthiest start of his season, surviving into the sixth. I also correctly predicted that David Price would be the arm to follow in the starter’s footsteps. I was this close to earning the respect of fantasy managers that heeded my advice, but the vulture win didn’t come until the walk-off in the ninth. Back to the matter at hand, all three Dodgers relievers were perfect. Price got four outs, Yency Almonte secured three, and Craig Kimbrel earned his second win after his perfect frame. It was calming to see Kimbrel emerge unscathed from an outing, and hopefully, this appearance is the start of a streak of scoreless outings and boatloads of saves. He used just five pitches on Wednesday and will be more than ready to go again today.

 

 

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 6/30: Ranking the Top 100 Relievers for Holds Every Thursday

Closing Time 7/5: Ranking the Top 40 Closers

Top 100 Relievers for Save+Hold Leagues: 7/1

 

Photos by Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Doug Carlin (@Bdougals on Twitter)