Bullpen Notes
Daily Notes on Bullpen Usage
LAB REPORTS
Bullpen Notes🗒️(6/28)
CIN: Burke and Johnson both pitched. Burke pitched well Johnson allowed a moonshot solo homer and a three run homer. Pagan had a good rehab outing so lets hope he is activated for the MIL series that starts tomorrow. That will be the 1st step in stabilizing this bullpen.
WSN: Mitchell Parker was the 1st man in and got through the 6th but allowed a two run homer in the 7th to make it 6-4. After allowing a walk Dicky Love finished the inning and both guys picked up holds. They turned to PJ Poulin for the 8th which he was perfect in and they brought him back for the 9th and despite allowing a walk he picked up the save. Poulin had been sent down a couple weeks ago but with how poor the bullpen has been anyone can get a chance. Ribalta was up in the 8th and Lawrence was up in the 9th. Eight guys are in the bullpen and all eight could see a save chance.
TEX: Odd day here as it appears they gave both Latz and Junis another day off. Neither had pitched yesterday but prior to that both had pitched back to back. Cole Winn pitched the 7th and 8th with a 2-0 lead but allowed a two run homer in the 8th to blow the save. They took the lead in 9th and turned to Tyler Alexander for the 2nd night in a row and he picked up the save. Winn shouldn't be pitching that late in games and Alexander is starting tomorrow so don't go crazy adding him.
TOR: Hoffman pitched well in the 7th and 8th with the team down. They tied it and turned to Varland in the 9th. He got a couple outs and allowed a double. After that he spiked a changeup that took a weird bounce and allowed the runner to score from 2nd. Weird loss but nothing to worry about with Varland.
DET: They had a 3-0 lead until the 7th. Tyler Holton had pitched the 6th and came back for the 7th. He got a couple outs before and error kept the inning alive. The next batter hit a two run homer that made it 3-2 and they turned to Kyle Finnegan to get the final out of the 7th. Finnegan was back for the 8th and allowed a leadoff homer that tied it. After walking the next batter he got out of the inning. With the game now tied they turned to Kenley Jansen and he threw a perfect 9th. Unfortunately they brought Kenley back for the 10th and he went walk, run scoring single, three run homer that put the game away. Kenley hadn't gone more than three outs since last year so this was pretty poor management. Vest was down after yesterday and as you can see each pitcher that went into his 2nd inning allowed runs. Kenley is the closer but this is a bad team that should be selling.
HOU: Hader had his 1st semi-poor inning. With the game tied he had the 9th and walked the bases loaded. He got a strikeout to get out of it though. Enyel De Los Santos pitched the 10th allowing a couple runs. Hader picked up the win and is the closer.
NYM: Kodai Senga was pitching in the 7th with a 4-3 lead. It was his third inning and he allowed a two run homer. That was the difference in the game. Ugly Mets. Very Ugly.
PHI: Chase Shugart was on for the 6th and allowed a double and homer that tied the game at 3-3. He let the next two on as well and got pulled for Kyle Bachkhus who allowed another runner to score and put them down 4-3. After they took the lead they in the top of the 7th they turned to José Alvarado in the 7th, Orion Kerkering in the 8th and Jhoan Duran in the 9th who got the save. Alvarado and Kerkering ran into some trouble but kept the Mets off the board while picking up holds. Kerkering is looking like the 8th inning man so he is a good holds add. Depending on what happens with Brad Keller's injury they could use another middle reliever.
SEA: The bullpen came up one high leverage pitcher short. Bazardo got the final out of the 6th picking up a hold. Speier pitched the 7th allowing a couple singles but protecting the 4-1 lead and getting a hold. In the 8th they turned to Michael Rucker who got an out on a sacrifice but allowed a run and left the bases loaded. Josh Simpson came on and let all three of Ruckers runners in as well as one of his own and was charged with a blown save. Ferrer was off, Brash is hurt, and that was the difference in this one.
CLE: Cade Smith got a save but it was an eventful one. He let a couple guys on with a 6-4 lead and got an easy grounder to 2nd that the guy threw away. That allowed a run to score but it was unearned. He got the final out to pick up the save. They had been down until the bottom of the 8th so the lower leverage guys pitched prior to the 9th.
CHC: Full bullpen game here. Rolison started and allowed a run in his two innings. He likely isn't seeing any saves. Thielbar pitched in the 7th and 8th and Ferguson got the last two outs of the 8th with the game tied 1-1. Webb was back in the 9th and he was up and down but got out of it and picked up a win. They took a 4-1 lead in the top of the 10th and turned to Ethan Roberts who didn't get an out. He was charged with two runs. Jordan Wicks came in with the bases loaded and walk a runner in before getting three outs and picking up the save. Webb is the closer here in my opinion. Not sure where Trent Thornton was today but he might be the next in line.
MIL: Ashby was charged with a blown save in the 7th. He let a guy in on a wild pitch. Uribe and Megill got them though the 7th, 8th, and 9th with the game tied 1-1. They went to Joel Kuhnel in the 10th and he fell apart. He did get a couple outs but got wild hitting a guy and walking a guy in. He allowed three runs and was charged with a loss. The main guys are who you want to roster.
MIN: Good day for the bullpen but still had some weird usage. Andrew Morris picked up the win getting four outs in the 7th and 8th. Banda picked up a hold getting the last two outs of the 8th. For whatever reason they brought Banda back out for the 9th and he walked a RHB. After that they turned to Gomez who threw 4 pitches, got three outs and picked up the save. I have no idea why Banda started the 9th but he shouldn't have. Gomez remains the best reliever here though he doesn't always close.
CWS: Hudson and Domínguez hadn't pitched in a couple days so they both saw action today. Domínguez had the 6th with the team down 5-4 and he allowed a hit but no runs. Hudson took the 7th with the same score and allowed two hits and a walk but got out of the inning. Hicks pitched the 8th and got an out in the 9th. I still think Hudson and Domínguez are in the mix for saves along with Grant Taylor and maybe Hicks sneaks in as well.
KCR: Finally a good day for the bullpen as they managed to protect a 5-4 lead from the 4th on. Cruz got a win pitching the 5th and Way got a hold in the 6th. After that they turned to Erceg who got through the 7th despite allowing a leadoff walk. Strahm had the 8th and had no issues. Both guys picked up holds. Alex Lange picked up a save pitching a perfect 9th inning. Lange is the closer and he should be rostered as he has been pretty good since taking over.
STL: Similar to the Royals all their big guys saw action and were all good. Romero was the first in pitching the 6th and getting an out in the 7th. Stanek finished off the 7th. Soriano pitched a perfect 8th and all three picked up holds. ROB picked up the save pitching a perfect 9th. This is the type of effort we saw early in the season from these guys.
ATH: Elvis Alvarado pitched in the 6th with the team down. Sort of a work day but that is all I'll say. Harris appears to be the closer with Barnett and Alvarado somewhat in the mix.
LAA: They went in a different direction today. Jose Fermin pitched the 6th and 7th with a 4-1 lead picking up a hold. They used Ryan Zeferjahn to start the 8th but pulled him with two outs. He had walked a couple batters which is par for the course. Samy Natera Jr. got the final out of the 8th and pitched the 9th picking up the save. He allowed a two out single but nothing else. Somewhat surprising as I would have thought Bachman or Yates was available. Bachman had thrown 26 pitches yesterday but Yates only threw 9. I still think Bachman is the leader of this committee but is does appear to be turning into a bigger committee.
SFG: Caleb Kilian bounced back and picked up a save. The starter went 8 so he was the only bullpen guy used. With a 3-1 lead he allowed a leadoff double and while that runner came around to score he got out of the inning. They made a trip to the mound with two outs so the confidence in Kilian still appears to be pretty low. He is the closer for now.
LAD: Vesia picked up a hold in the 6th but allowed a run. Will Klein got the finally out of the 6th and pitched in the 7th picking up a hold. They turned to Tanner Scott in the 7th to get the final out and he also pitched the 8th with a 4-2 lead. He faced the meat of the order so it makes sense that he was used in that spot. Picking up a hold isn't as good as a save though. That left the 9th for Edgardo Henriquez who walked a batter but got out of the inning and picked up the save. Scott is closer here and maybe Henriquez finally sees a bump up in leverage but I still think Hurt is the better RHP option.
BOS: They did what they could to try and lose this one. Tyron Guerrero got them to the 9th getting the last two outs of the 8th and picking up a hold. Chapman came in with a 2-0 lead and allowed a single and walk. He got the next batter to fly out to right but the right fielder threw the ball away allowing a run to score and the guy on first to get to third. A baby grounder by the next hitter tied the game despite a play at the plate. Chapman got the next two out and appeared to think he won the game. He was charged with a blown save. In the 10th Slaten allowed the ghost runner and another guy to score after another ball got thrown away but he ended up picking up the win. Both runs were unearned. Chapman remains the closerand Slaten is a holds option.
NYY: They used Bednar in the 8th while they were down 2-0. After tying it he came back out and pitched the 9th. No major issues in either inning. Fernando Cruz had the 10th and it got ugly. He had a 4-2 lead and was facing the bottom of the order. He allowed a couple hits to start before getting a sac fly out and allowing the game ending single. Not a great effort and he just didn't seem to have it tonight. I still like him as a holds guy.
Explore The Lab.
