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
- There were 13 games scheduled for Wednesday. The Cubs’ and Reds’ games were postponed due to rain and rescheduled for September 1st. The Dodgers, Rockies, Diamondbacks, and Padres were off.
- The Cincinnati Reds called up Kevin Herget, designated reliever Bennett Sousa for assignment, and optioned Joel Kuhnel to Triple-A. Kuhnel pitched in relief Tuesday night against the Cubs.
Yesterday’s Performances
NYY 4 – PHI 2
- After a rough outing on Opening Day that ended in a loss, Gregory Soto again had a poor outing yesterday after relieving starter Aaron Nola. He walked two batters and gave up a home run to Jose Trevino. Seranthony Domínguez finished out the inning pitching for the Phillies, allowing one hit.
- For the Yankees, Jonathan Loáisiga earned his second hold of the season despite allowing a solo shot to Kyle Schwarber. Clay Holmes struck out the side in the 9th inning and earned his first save of the season. He lowered his ERA on the season to 6.75.
TB 7 – WSH 2
- Colin Poche, Garrett Cleavinger, and Ryan Thompson were deployed in Tampa Bay’s 7-2 victory over the Nationals after starter Shane McClanahan lasted six innings. Pache gave up one hit while pitching a scoreless inning in the 7th. Cleavinger followed with a scoreless 8th inning, keeping his season ERA perfect at 0.00. Thompson made things interesting by walking two batters, but ultimately slammed the door on the Nationals.
- The Rays moved to 6-0 on the season with the victory, their best start in franchise history.
- This game was already over by the time Thaddeus Ward entered the game in the 7th inning after another terrible start by Patrick Corbin. Ward gave up an additional run in two innings pitched, throwing a total of 40 pitches. Anthony Banda pitched a scoreless 9th.
MIA 5 – MIN 2
- Griffin Jax and Caleb Thielbar gave up two earned runs each to the Marlins, spoiling the nice outing for Twins’ starter Pablo López (7 IP, 1 ER, 8K).
- For Miami, Dylan Floro was credited with the win after throwing 16 pitches (12 strikes) in the 8th inning and surrendering no hits while collecting one strikeout. A.J. Puk once again saw 9th-inning duties for the Marlins, perhaps signalling he will be receiving a nice share of the save opportunities moving forward.
ATL 5 – STL 2
- The Braves brought Michael Tonkin into the game in the 7th inning and he provided a souvenir to Jordan Walker as Walker hit his first career home run off Tonkin. Atlanta also used Dylan Lee and Collin McHugh before Jesse Chavez nailed down the save in the 9th.
- For St. Louis, Packy Naughton (great name!) and Chris Stratton were great in relief, giving up a combined one hit in three IP.
PIT 4 – BOS 1
- Rob Zastryzny pitched a scoreless 8th inning for the Bucs to capture his second hold of the season. Duane Underwood Jr. was given the 9th inning duties with David Bednar unavailable. Underwood Jr. gave up a hit but nothing else and locked down his first save.
- John Schreiber was the first relief arm in the game for the Red Sox, entering the game in the 6th. Schreiber walked one and gave up three hits and a run. Kaleb Ort next gave up two runs in the 7th inning before Richard Bleier and Zack Kelly pitched a scoreless 8th and 9th. It was too late for the Red Sox as they fell to the Pirates.
MIL 7 – NYM 6
- A total of eight relievers were used in this game, as starters David Peterson (5 ER in 4 IP) and Corbin Burnes (6 ER in 4.1 IP) both made early exits. For the Mets, Drew Smith entered the game in the 5th inning and gave up one additional run before clean appearances by John Curtiss and David Robertson. Adam Ottavino entered a tied game and promptly gave up the game-winning home run to Garrett Mitchell. It was Ottavino’s third appearance of the year and first earned run of the 2023 season.
- For the Brewers, Devin Williams was credited with the win after throwing nine pitches for a scoreless 9th. Hoby Milner (another great name!), Peter Strzelecki, and Matt Bush preceded Williams and gave up no hits and no runs in 3.2 combined IP.
TEX 5 – BAL 2
- The Rangers received strong outings from Will Smith and Jonathan Hernández before José Leclerc nailed down his first save of the year. Smith earned his first hold of the season after capturing a Save in his first appearance of the season last Sunday.
- Austin Voth received the loss, allowing four hits and three earned runs in 1.1 innings of work. Keegan Akin and Bryan Baker also appeared for the Orioles and did not give up any additional runs.
HOU 8 – DET 2
- For Detroit, Garrett Hill and Tyler Alexander were both used in extended appearances after starter Eduardo Rodriguez was chased in the 5th inning. They didn’t fare much better as Hill gave up two hits and a run and Alexander gave up three hits and two runs in his 2.0 IP.
- Bryan Abreu earned his second hold of the year after pitching a scoreless 7th. Rafael Montero gave up one run in the 8th before Ryan Pressly appeared in a potential confidence builder after a few rough appearances to start the year. Pressly pitched a scoreless 9th in the non-save situation.
CHW 7 – SF 3
- Sean Hjelle entered the game in the 6th and allowed four hits and three unearned runs for the Giants. Scott Alexander stopped the scoring before Tyler Rogers pitched a scoreless 8th.
- The White Sox won the game but burned up many relief arms in the process as Jake Diekman, Aaron Bummer, and Reynaldo López all secured a hold in the victory. Jimmy Lambert followed with a scoreless 8th before Joe Kelly gave up two runs to the Giants on a Joc Pederson double but held on as the White Sox won the game.
CLE 6 – OAK 4
- Oakland was the first team to turn to a reliever in the 5th inning when Domingo Acevedo entered the game for Kyle Muller and threw a third of an inning to close out the 6th.
- Adrián Martínez then gave up two runs over two innings, surrendering three hits and three walks.
- Jeurys Familia pitched a scoreless 9th before Zach Jackson gave up the winning run in the 10th.
- The Guardians also had their own bullpen issues in this game. First Nick Sandlin gave up a solo shot to Oakland, then setup man Tim Herrin was charged with his first blown save of the season in the 8th, as he served up a three-run home run to Jesús Aguilar. Eli Morgan righted the ship for Cleveland and was credited with the win after pitching a scoreless inning before Emmanuel Clase closed out the game for the Guardians.
LAA 4 – SEA 3
- Matt Moore and Jimmy Herget both gave up an earned run in consecutive innings, but also each earned a hold before José Quijada closed the door for his first save. He struck out one and gave up one hit.
- The Mariners deployed five total relievers in the loss (Matt Brash, Diego Castillo, Andrés Muñoz, Penn Murfee, and Trevor Gott) so they could be short-handed in their game today as they open a series in Cleveland.
TOR 3 – KC 0
- Toronto couldn’t have drawn it up much better as they put on an efficiency clinic versus Kansas City. Starter Alek Manoah went seven scoreless innings. Erik Swanson pitched a perfect 8th for his second hold, and Jordan Romano earned his third save of the year as the Blue Jays shut out the Royals. This trio could lead to a lot of success north of the border this season.
- Right-hander Taylor Clarke coughed up two runs in the 8th inning, extending the Blue Jays’ lead to 3-0 before Dylan Coleman threw a scoreless 9th inning for the Royals.
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)