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 an excellent 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 30 teams were in action yesterday, and only five saves were recorded. Closers will be relatively fresh for all of today’s games but check our chart below to make sure of any red flags.
- If you’re looking for a win vulture opportunity, the best option might be from the Dodgers. Mitch White is due to start today in a favorable matchup against the Cardinals. White has only gone beyond four innings once this season and lasted just three and a third last time out. The Dodgers used nine pitchers out of the bullpen yesterday, so it will likely come down to David Price or Justin Bruihl, dependant on the situation. I fancy Bruihl to be given the earlier opportunity given Price’s injury concerns.
Transaction Notes
- The Diamondbacks placed closer Tyler Clippard on the COVID-19 injured list. It is anyone’s guess as to who will see save opportunities in the meantime. Former A’s reliever J.B. Wendelken is top of our tree.
- Orioles swingman Jorge Lopez was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right ankle sprain. The ball club also optioned Zack Burdi to Triple-A affiliate the Norfolk Tides. Mike Baumann will now act in long relief when required.
Yesterday’s Performances
- It was another bittersweet moment for former A’s hero Liam Hendriks, who once again closed the book on his former team by pitching a clean 1-2-3 ninth inning to preserve a three-run lead and catapult his new team, the White Sox, to an 11 game lead in the AL Central. Hendriks is on a tear for his team – yesterday’s save was his 33rd of the season, and he has lowered his ERA to 2.95 to go along with a fantastic 0.77 WHIP. He struck out Skye Bolt for his 96th K of the season. Wowsers!
- Will Smith needed just seven pitches to record three outs and put up a perfect top of the ninth to shut the door on the Nationals, helping Atlanta to stretch their lead in the NL East to 2 1/2 games over the Phillies. Whilst he does litter the box score with strikeouts, he is efficient. Smith is 31-of-35 in save opportunities, boasting a 69/21 K/BB ratio across 56 innings pitched. He has done exactly what Atlanta needed him to do this year.
- Pitching on his fourth night in a row, the long-forgotten Alex Colome has revived himself somewhat of late (albeit too little, too late). The Twins closer had a miserable start to the year; however, he’s yielded runs in just two of his last 18 appearances. He worked a clean ninth inning against Cleveland yesterday to earn his 13th save of the year. Colome has seven scoreless innings and six saves in his last seven appearances. He is a valuable add going into the fantasy playoffs.
- Speaking of long-lost closers, Mychal Givens has also reinvented himself in Cincinnati. The journeyman reliever came over from the Rockies in a trade near the deadline and has gone 6-of-7 in save chances. 13 of his 15 appearances have been scoreless. He is another decent option for those looking to steal a few saves in their season-defining fantasy matchups.
- After the wonder of a three-strikeout save in impressive fashion for David Bednar on Monday, Chris Stratton got the nod to follow Bednar and take his chance at a save opportunity yesterday. Despite Stratton blowing a save on Sunday, the Pittsburgh hierarchy is obviously keen to share the love until the end of the season to see what they have in both Stratton and Bednar in high-leverage situations. Stratton struck out Tigers hitters Derek Hill and Akil Baddoo in a solid inning of work – he now has 73 Ks across 69 1/3 innings in 2021.
- Alex Bregman dispatched a poor Paul Sewald fastball high in the zone into the stands for a two-run homer to condemn the Mariners closer to his fourth blown save in 12 opportunities this season. Despite being one of the best relievers around at stages in the season, the numbers hint at a spike rather than a consistent elite effort for the former Mets pitcher. He did strike out two and got out of the inning with the scores tied, however, the Mariners went onto lose in the 10th inning.
Bullpen Depth Charts