Bullpen Depth Charts: Relievers To Stream — 7/10

Welcome back to Relievers to Stream for Wins and Saves! This will bring you up-to-date bullpen depth charts every morning for the day’s games and makes for a great tool for those of you looking to stream saves or wins. This series runs seven days a week, so be sure to check in every morning to get your daily bullpen fix!

 

Notes

 

Schedule Notes

 

• All thirty teams saw game action yesterday, and the same will be true today, with the Mets and Pirates playing two on account of the numerous rainouts to plague the Mets this week. A combination of blowouts and deep starting pitching performances kept many high-leverage relievers out of action on Friday, as the Mets, Red Sox, White Sox, Cubs, Braves, and Rays all won by six-plus runs and Cleveland, the A’s, Reds, and both Chicago squads all got at least seven innings from their starters. Most teams will have their top guns ready to go on Saturday; there isn’t a single surefire closer who’s pitched for multiple consecutive days and in dire need of a break.

 

Transaction and Injury Notes

 

• San Diego placed Drew Pomeranz on the 10-day injured list with left forearm inflammation, retroactive to July 7, and recalled Miguel Díaz and Reiss Knehr. Aaron Norcraft was designated for assignment.
• New York (NL) claimed RHP Geoff Hartleib off waivers from Pittsburgh

 

• St. Louis signed free agent RHP Luis Garcia to a Major League contract and optioned RHP Johan Oviedo to Triple-A Springfield .
• Chicago (NL) Reinstated setup man RHP Ryan Tepera from the IL and placed LHP Brad Wieck on the 10-day IL with an irregular heartbeat. Cory Abbott was optioned to Triple-A Iowa, and LHP Kyle Ryan was recalled.

 

Yesterday’s Performances

 

• • Emmanuel Clase and James Karinchak both appeared in Cleveland’s tense walk-off win against Kansas City last night, with the latter seemingly securing another leg up on the former for the team’s little-used closer spot. Karinchak threw a scoreless ninth inning with two strikeouts, while Clase blew the win for Triston McKenzie by allowing a game-tying solo home run to Jorge Soler in the eighth. Karinchak has now worked two straight days, and should Cleveland find themselves in a save situation today, the opportunity should go to Clase or even Bryan Shaw.
  • Andrew Kittredge and Jeffrey Springs did the bulk of the pen work in Tampa Bay’s win over Toronto, relieving Shane McClanahan and going two scoreless innings each, combining for 7 Ks along the way.
• • With Josh Hader and Devin Williams both unavailable, Hunter Strickland pitched a scoreless eighth in the Brew Crew’s 2-0 win over Cincinnati, while Jandel Gustave handled the ninth with a two-run deficit. Strickland has yet to allow a run in ten appearances with Milwaukee (11.1 IP) after being released by the Angels last month.
  • J.P. Feyereisen closed things out for Tampa Bay against Toronto, firing a scoreless ninth and lowering his ERA to 1.38 since being acquired from Milwaukee earlier this season.
• • Brandon Bielak kept the Astros’ pen fresh in their 4-0 home loss to the Yankees, eating 2.2 innings without allowing a run and escaping a key seventh-inning jam to keep the game close after Bryan Abreu allowed three hits and recored just one out.
  • On the other side of the ball, the Yankees ongoing closer intrigue continued, with Chad Green seeing two scoreless innings of setup work before yielding to Jonathan Loaisiga, who set the Astros down in order for his third save of the year and first since May 14. It’s hard to gauge the temperature of the fully in-bloom Aroldis Chapman crises engulfing the Bronx at the moment, but it seems to be a two-man race between Green and Loaisiga for more closing opportunities should Chapman continue to melt down.
• • Hansel Robles picked up a two-inning save for the Twins, getting the last two outs of the eighth and inducing a game-ending double play to secure a 4-2 over Detroit. It was the ninth save of the season for Robles, who continues to split time with Taylor Rogers in Minnesota’s nebulous closer spot, though the latter has stilled looked considerably stronger as of late.
  • One of the most interesting bullpen developments in recent days is the emergence of Heath Hembree as the ninth-inning man in Cincinnati. Hembree struck out the side to save the Reds’ 2-0 shutout of Milwaukee last night, bringing his K/BB to a ridiculous 50/11 in just 29 innings. It’s Hembree’s fourth save in his last five outings, and with much of the Reds’ bullpen still unavailable, this may become something of a pattern.
• • Ian Kennedy picked up his 15th save of the season, striking out one and throwing a scoreless ninth in the Rangers’ 3-2 win over the Athletics on Friday. Now rolling out a 2.76 ERA on the campaign, Kennedy seems like a lock to be pitching for a team with slightly better playoff odds a month from now.
  • Miami was held to just two hits on the evening, and Atlanta needed to use exactly none of their high-leverage arms to get it done, letting Luke Jackson and Jesse Chavez clean up Charlie Morton’s two-hitter with a scoreless eighth and ninth.
• • Philadelphia’s bullpen remains a convoluted mess; Héctor Neris and Archie Bradley got the night off and should be in line for a save opportunity should one arise on Saturday or Sunday, as Connor Brogdon, Brandon Kintzler, and José Alvarado struggled through the middle innings before letting Ronald Torreyes show them all up with a scoreless ninth.
  • Jake McGee worked as the Giants’ closer for the third straight outing, picking up his 18th save along the way with a scoreless ninth, while Tyler Rogers held steady in his eighth-inning role, holding the Nationals scoreless despite three hits allowed. McGee seems to have regained the upper hand for the team’s primary closer spot after Rogers appeared to take over last month.
• • Arizona picked up a rare save opportunity in their 5-2 win against the Dodgers, with Joakim Soria following up scoreless innings from Noe Ramirez and Joe Mantiply for the 226th save of his lengthy career.
  • On the other side of that game, Los Angeles worked from the depths of their bullpen, allowing Alex Vesia, Scott Alexander, Edwin Uceta, and Jake Reed to eat five of the six innings following a still-getting-stretched-out David Price, leaving Garrett Cleavinger, Blake Treinen, and Kenley Jensen all well-rested today.
• • San Diego’s bullpen hierarchy worked like a charm last night, as Tim Hill and Austin Adams picked up their 12th and 9th holds of the season, setting up a scoreless ninth for Mark Melancon’s league-best 27th save of the season in their win over Colorado.
  • Kendall Graveman lowered his ERA to 0.95 with his scoreless ninth in a win over the Angels last night; it wasn’t a save situation and his availability tonight is nebulous, but Graveman appears to have secured (at least for the time being) the closer role on a surprisingly competitive Seattle club.