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
- Yesterday’s full slate of games held up, with no rainouts and no makeups. That means that today’s slate also won’t have any games to make up, so six teams will have the day off: BAL, TB, OAK, MIL, LAD, and SD.
- If you’re looking to bet on starters not earning the win, the Angels–Rangers matchup looks like your best bet. Neither Dylan Bundy nor Spender Howard is built up enough to reliably go five innings, and neither offense has the punch to make betting on whoever follows them all that scary. For the Angels, José Quintana should be rested enough to fill in what Bundy can’t, and for the Rangers, Taylor Hearn is likely to piggyback. There’s a better chance that Hearn appears and performs well, so he’s my vote for the day.
Transaction and Injury Notes
- Matt Barnes was reinstated from the COVID–19 IL after testing negative before Boston’s matchup against Detroit. Test results returning before a game starts? An incredible concept.
- Ryan Pressly returned from the paternity list in time for yesterday’s game against the Dodgers. The Astros have today off today, but he should slide back into his closer role for this weekend’s series against the Twins in Houston.
- Edwin Díaz is still out on paternity leave but should be back for Friday’s game, if not today.
Yesterday’s Performances
- The Reds’ Michael Lorenzen picked up his first save of the year in a five-out effort after Brad Brach and Luis Cessa combined to give up two walks and three hits to just one out in the eighth. Lorenzen struck out two in the eighth and one in the ninth before inducing a double play. This probably doesn’t tell us about what the Reds would do in most late-inning situations — it looks more like Lorenzen came in because he could and then stayed in because he was good.
- The Rays’ Ryan Sherriff also picked up his first save of the year, although it’s always worth wondering if that just meant that he got picked last by Kevin Cash. Matt Wisler also struck out four over the seventh and eighth innings, albeit while giving up one run, and JT Chargois pitched a clean sixth. Of the potential Tampa closers, that only leaves Andrew Kittredge unused, but there’s no opportunity to get smart with Tampa’s bullpen because they’re off today.
- Devin Williams picked up his first career save for the Brewers with Josh Hader on the COVID-19 IL, striking out two in his outing. He also hit 98 mph on his fastball for just the third time this season after doing so 31 times last year, a sign that he’s returning to his best self. You can take your pick of Devin Williams‘ ERA splits however you like, but instead, I’ll offer this: he’s allowed one home run since the beginning of May and has a 40.8% strikeout rate to a 12.5% walk rate. That’s a recipe for dominance.
- The post-selloff Cubs gave Manuel Rodríguez yet another shot at the ninth inning, which he converted for his first save of his young career. Rodríguez gave up a walk-off home run to Yadiel Hernandez just three days prior in his second MLB appearance, and he pitched the ninth when the Cubs trailed two days before then. He’s one to watch as the dust settles in Wrigleyville.
- Trevor May picked up his fourth save of the year for the Mets with Edwin Díaz out on paternity leave and Seth Lugo in need of rest after a long appearance the day before. This shouldn’t change anything about any existing depth charts, and Díaz should return by tomorrow, if not today.
- Raisel Iglesias was one of the few regular closers in action last night — he earned his 23rd save as he finished off the Angels’ tight 2–1 win over the Rangers. Most of the interesting notes on this game are on the hitting side: Angels batters struck out just four times and did not walk once, finishing the game with eight hits on 30 balls in play out of 34 PAs.
- Atlanta’s Will Smith picked up his 22nd save in a 7–4 victory over St. Louis, striking out two. Deadline acquisition Richard Rodriguez entered the game in the fifth inning, so it remains to be seen whether he’ll be a regular fixture of their late innings. If not, his holds value could be in doubt.
- Matt Barnes returned from the COVID-19 IL after a negative test, and he picked up his 24th save of the year while striking out two. Notable on the other side was that the “Mize Plan” did not mean that Casey Mize was limited to long opened duty, so there was no chance for Detroit’s other relievers to vulture a win due to lack of innings. Whether he stays stretched out is worth watching, both for his and their bullpen’s rest-of-season values.
Bullpen Depth Charts