Reliever Ranks – 8/13

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

 

• Last night, 28 teams took the field, with CHC and CIN getting a night off.
• All 30 teams will see action today, with MIA and ATL playing a doubleheader.
• The next off day is on Monday (8/15), but only the following won’t play: BOS, PIT, STL, and COL. So, expect those bullpens to get pushed heavily through the weekend.

 

• Houston is starting Lance McCullers Jr., who will surely be limited; lining Bryan Abreu up for some multi-inning work.
• The following players have pitched on back-t0-back nights and will likely be unavailable: Matt Barnes (BOS), Keegan Akin (BAL), and Steven Okert (MIA).

 

 

ATL 4 – MIA 3

• Newly acquired starter Jake Odorizzi only lasted four innings before handing the ball to the pen. After a savvy two-inning performance from Collin McHugh, four high-leverage arms shut down Miami’s offense. Tyler Matzek nabbed his second win after a scoreless inning where he allowed three base runners. In the 8th inning, Kirby Yates and A.J. Minter picked up holds, although Yates coughed up a late run after a pair of hits. Finally, Kenley Jansen struck out two and walked two as he notched save #25.
• For the Marlins, the bullpen was great besides Elieser Hernandez, who served up an HR to Michael Harris in the 8th inning. Huascar Brazoban pitched another scoreless frame and dropped his ERA to 1.04.

 

SDP 10 – WSN 5

• Padres starter Mike Clevinger stopped after five innings. Nabil Crismatt came in for the next two innings but struggled. While he didn’t give up any earned runs, the one run was a by-product of all the base runners allowed. In the 8th inning, Robert Suarez quieted things down for an inning as he struck out one. Up by eight runs, they turned to Tayler Scott for an inning. Except, he allowed a leadoff bomb to Maikel Franco, and things got worse from there as three runs scored. Eventually, Nick Martinez was summonsed for the final two outs.
• Washington was put in a hole early as starter Cory Abbott only lasted four innings while allowing three runs. It didn’t get any better as Víctor Arano allowed five runs to score in less than an inning of work. Erasmo Ramírez finished off the final batter in the 5th inning after seven runs crossed the plate. Jake McGee and Hunter Harvey pitched scoreless frames in the 7th and 9th, but recently IL activated Tyler Clippard gave up two runs of his own on a Brandon Drury HR.

 

CLE 8 – TOR 0

• After an impressive seven-inning outing from Cal Quantrill, Cleveland only turned to two relief arms. Eli Morgan spun 16 strikes on 23 pitches for a scoreless inning that included a strikeout, and Nick Sandlin stranded a base runner in his lone inning.
• Toronto starter José Berríos had another meltdown and allowed eight runs to cross home plate in only four innings. From there, they emptied the bullpen since most hadn’t pitched in a few days. Zach Pop, Trevor Richards, Trent Thornton, Adam Cimber, and David Phelps combined for five innings without allowing any runs.

 

BAL 10 – TBR 3

• Austin Voth only allowed three hits and two earned runs over 5.1 innings of work. Following Voth, Keegan Akin tossed a clean inning with two punchouts. Cionel Pérez and Joey Krehbiel combined for nearly two innings as the Orioles took a big lead through eight innings. Finally, Louis Head chucked a scoreless frame with one strikeout.
• After Kluber allowed seven earned runs, Tampa pumped the breaks on utilizing any high-leverage arms. Instead, Shawn Armstrong, Jimmy Yacabonis, and Yu Chang (position player) made an appearance, all of which gave up earned runs.

 

PHI 2 – NYM 1 (10 innings)

• In a tightly contested game, Philly relievers needed to be perfect. José Alvarado was the first arm out of the pen and locked things down in the 8th inning. Next up, in his only inning, Seranthony Domínguez allowed two base runners but earned his 6th win. Finally, up by one, David Robertson stranded the inherited ghost runner to notch his 16th save of the season.
• For the Mets, Max Scherzer scattered nine hits over seven innings to only allow one earned run. Adam Ottavino followed Mad Max’s gem by throwing a scoreless inning with two Ks. In a non-save opportunity, Edwin Díaz struck out another two batters on eight pitches for his scoreless frame. Finally, Mychal Givens allowed Bryson Stott (inherited ghost runner on 2nd base) to score after a groundout and sacrifice fly.

 

DET 0 – CHW 2

• After a two-out double by AJ Pollock, Jason Foley came in to induce an Andrew Vaughn groundout. He followed that with another inning of no-run ball that included two Ks. In the 7th, Alex Lange started fine by striking out Yasmani Grandal, but then things went downhill. He allowed two singles, a walk, and hit a batter; in the end, two runs crossed the plate in his lone inning. Finally, Wily Peralta pitched the last three outs but walked a pair as two sat down on three strike counts.
• Starter Michael Kopech looked untouchable. No, really, he didn’t give up a single hit in six innings. However, Reynaldo López vultured the win with a scoreless inning in the 7th. Kendall Graveman earned his 20th hold with a walk and strikeout. Up by a pair of runs in the 9th, Liam Hendriks allowed a one-out single to Javier Báez before picking up the final two outs and save #24.

 

NYY 2 – BOS 3 (10 innings)

• The first arm out of the pen was Scott Effross. His ten-pitch, seven-strike performance earned him hold #15. Following Effross, Aroldis Chapman notched his first hold of the season after two Ks in the 8th inning. However, disaster struck in the 9th inning as Clay Holmes blew his fifth save in a two-walk, one-earned run outing. Wandy Peralta cleaned up the mess by collecting two outs and stranding two base runners. Finally, Lou Trivino gave up a single to Tommy Pham as Christian Arroyo(inherited ghost runner on 2nd base) came around third base to score the winning run.
• Boston starter Nathan Eovaldi limited the Yankees’ stout offense to only two runs in six innings. Matt Barnes allowed two base runners before striking out a pair to escape disaster. In the 8th inning, Ryan Brasier pitched a clean inning on nine pitches (eight strikes). The 9th and 10th inning belonged to Garrett Whitlock, who walked leadoff hitter Aaron Judge in the 10th before striking out Josh Donaldson and Gleyber Torres to claim his third win of the season.

 

SEA 6 – TEX 2

• Seattle’s bullpen was electric. Matt Brash struck out Leody Taveras with baserunners at the corners to get starter George Kirby out of a jam. However, in the 7th inning, Brash came back out and allowed a pair of singles between two Ks before getting removed for Andrés Muñoz. He collected the third out and pitched a scoreless 8th inning to earn hold #16. Erik Swanson finished the final three outs with a pair of Ks.
• Texas tried their hand at another bullpen game. Josh Sborz allowed a hit but finished off the 1st inning with no runs. However, Taylor Hearn only lasted 2.2 innings after giving up three earned runs. Following Hearn, José Leclerc was brought out for 2.1 innings and hurled 36 pitches. Surely, he’ll get tomorrow off. Matt Moore and Jose Hernandez scuffled in their lone inning of work. The pair allowed far too many base runners and each got touched up for runs.

 

LAD 8 – KCR 3

• David Price earned his fourth hold by getting Tony Gonsolin out of a jam. With a pair of runners on base, Price induced a Nate Eaton groundout in the 7th inning. Reyes Moronta followed up by giving up a two-run shot to Salvador Perez. Finally, up 8-3, Phil Bickford struck out two batters in his only inning.
• In the 6th inning, starter Daniel Lynch turned the ball over to Amir Garrett, who tossed a scoreless frame. However, in the 7th inning, Josh Staumont failed to record an out as the first five batters reached base. In the end, he tallied five earned runs. Things didn’t get much better from there as Luke Weaver and Joel Payamps gave up three more runs in the final two innings.

 

OAK 5 – HOU 7

• The first arm out of the pen (Adam Oller) didn’t do them any favors as he allowed four earned runs (via a Kyle Tucker Grand Slam) in the 5th inning. Down by six in the 6th inning, Austin Pruitt and A.J. Puk combined for 2.1 innings of no-run ball, with Puk striking out a pair. Domingo Acevedo came on for the 8th inning but gave up an earned run after a leadoff single for Jeremy Peña.
• Houston got a meh performance from Luis Garcia, who lasted six innings and (in hindsight) probably shouldn’t have come back out for the start of the 7th inning. Will Smith stepped in with runners on base but didn’t lock things down and allowed his own earned run. Ryne Stanek allowed base runners via walks and hits but escaped without any damage. Grabbing his second save, Héctor Neris tossed a 1-2-3 inning. But don’t fret too much Ryan Pressly managers; he was unavailable due to a stiff neck.

 

MIL 1 – STL 3

• After six innings from starter Eric Lauer, Milwaukee elected to go with lower leverage relievers. Brent Suter tossed an inning and an out with one K, and Jason Alexander finished the final two outs while scattering two base runners.
• For the Cardinals, Jordan Montgomery K’d eight batters over his six innings with no runs allowed. Andre Pallante followed Monty’s start by allowing a leadoff triple and single before ending any rally hopes. Then, in a rare two-inning performance, Ryan Helsley collected his 12th save with a 29-pitch (22 strikes) outing.

 

ARI 3 – COL 5

• In a 3-3 tie game, Chris Devenski was tarnished by the loss after leaving two runners on base that later scored in the 7th inning. Joe Mantiply was the pitcher on the bump when those runners scored; however, he didn’t suffer the same fate, as he struck out Brendan Rodgers to end the 8th inning. Kevin Ginkel finished the last three outs with a pair of Ks on 14 pitches.
• In the 7th inning, Dinelson Lamet found his first win of the season after a scoreless frame with one punchout. Following Lamet, Lucas Gilbreath earned his 11th hold with a similar outing (1.0 IP, 1 K). Finally, Daniel Bard labored through 30 pitches during Thursday night’s appearance. So, Carlos Estévez came in for his second save of the season.

 

MIN 4 – LAA 0

• Twins starter Tyler Mahle only allowed five base runners through six innings. Furthermore, he handed the ball over to Michael Fulmer with a three-run lead. From there, the bullpen was lights out. Fulmer, Jhoan Duran, and Jorge López completed the final three innings with four Ks and only allowed two base runners.
• The Angels went with a piggyback approach. Patrick Sandoval tossed five innings while allowing two earned runs before Mike Mayers tossed four innings while also allowing two earned runs. The pair combined to be Los Angeles’ only pitchers.

 

PIT 3 – SFG 5

• The Pirates bullpen was OK in this one, with Manny Bañuelos, Colin Holderman, and Austin Brice combining for 2.2 innings and o only allowing one run. However, they (Banuelos: 13 pitches, 7 strikes/6 balls, Holderman: 24 pitches, 11 strikes/13 balls, and Brice: 32 pitches, 17 strikes/15 balls) struggled with command.
• Giants starter Carlos Rodón grabbed his 11th win after six innings. Following Rodon, Thoman Szapucki, John Brebbian, and Alex Young notched holds. As the scoreboard showed a two-run lead in the 9th inning, Camilo Doval made his way to the mound. His strikeout of Bryan Reynolds finished the game and earned him save #16.

 

 

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: Ranking the Top 100 Relievers for Holds Every Thursday

Closing Time: Ranking the Top 30 Closers

Top 100 Relievers for Save+Hold Leagues

 

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