Welcome back to the newest 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
- The Dodgers, Mets, A’s, and Giants are the only teams that had Thursday off, giving them each a day to refresh their bullpen situations.
- The Red Sox will welcome back Kutter Crawford and Tanner Houck to their active roster on Friday. Houck is expected to piggyback starter Rich Hill in the series opener in Baltimore.
Yesterday’s Performances
- Jordan Romano keeps doing Jordan Romano things, including collecting his ninth save of the season for the Blue Jays. Adam Cimber worked the eighth in this one, recording his third hold on the year and redeeming himself a little bit from his blown save on Monday. Romano needed 12 pitches to get through his scoreless inning and should still be available if needed in a tight spot on Friday, though he has pitched in four of the past seven days and should be expected to rest at some point this weekend, especially since Toronto does not have a scheduled day off until Monday, May 9th.
- Though it wasn’t on the winning side, the Red Sox utilized Matt Barnes in the seventh inning of their close game with the Blue Jays, holding the game with one run as he threw a perfect inning to set up Hansel Robles in the eighth. Boston would not need a pitcher for the ninth as the Blue Jays would hold their one-run lead through the top of the inning, but the usage pattern here should be noted. Jake Diekman was supposedly unavailable after pitching in back-to-back days.
- Taylor Rogers put up his seventh save of the season for the Padres, pitching around a hit and striking out one through 12 pitches. Though that does give him back-to-back outings, his one pitch save on Wednesday should hardly preclude him from being available on Friday if needed.
- David Bednar was once again utilized in the eighth inning for the Pirates, pitching a perfect inning with one strikeout, collecting his fourth hold of the season. Bednar set up for Chris Stratton in the ninth, who went on to record his first blown save of the year, allowing the Brewers to come back and score two runs off four hits. Bednar would also take the loss in this one after Devin Williams would come in and shut the door in the bottom of the ninth, striking out all three Pirates he would face, taking home his first save of the season in the process. Josh Hader had thrown 32 pitches in his back-to-back appearances (and 55 pitches through his four appearances in the previous five days), so it was nice to know Williams was there to hold down the fort while Hader received some needed rest.
- With Anthony Bender receiving a day of rest after pitching in back-to-back days, Cole Sulser punched his first save of the year, collecting the final four outs for the Marlins on Thursday. Sulser needed 22 pitches in this one. Combined with the 17 pitches needed on Tuesday, one shouldn’t expect Sulser or Anthony Bass back on the mound Friday, as Bass collected his fifth hold of the year in his second straight day of work himself. Bender should be back at it in the final inning if needed on Friday.
- While the game was still close, Jonathan Loáisiga recorded four outs, three by way of strikeout, for the Yankees in the sixth and seventh innings, recording his 3rd hold of the season. These are the type of outings that league managers in saves+holds leagues roster him for and they should feel confident there will be many more to come moving forward.
- As expected, Tampa Bay deployed a full bullpen day on Thursday, utilizing six different pitchers on the day. J.P. Feyereisen was the lucky winner of the bunch, being in the game at the right time to be credited with the win after pitching a perfect seventh and eighth inning, collecting two strikeouts along the way. Colin Poche recorded the first two outs of the ninth inning and his third hold of the season, ultimately yielding to Ryan Thompson who would strike out pinch-hitting Tom Murphy to record his second save of the year. If you were lucky enough to pick the right Rays’ reliever to get credited with either the win or save yesterday, congratulations.
- Griffin Jax recorded his first career save on Thursday, eating up the final three innings of Minnesota’s six-run victory over Detroit. Jax was bumped from the rotation consideration with the addition of Chris Paddack and should be seeing more long-relief situations moving forward. Watch his usage for possible vulture win opportunities while he sits in this role.
- Matt Bush took the loss for the Rangers after giving up a pinch-hit two-run home run to Kyle Tucker in the top of the eighth inning Thursday, further cementing Joe Barlow at the top of the hierarchy in Texas. The lead would be held by the Astros with Blake Taylor holding on through the eighth with a perfect inning to set up Rafael Montero in the ninth. Montero got the nod with Ryan Pressly still working his way back for Houston, recording his first save of the season, but not without some drama that included a Corey Seager home solo shot that would bring the Rangers within one. With Héctor Neris pitching in each of the past two days and Ryne Stanek needing 22 pitches on Wednesday, it’s not much of a surprise to see Montero being put in this situation Thursday. Pressly should resume his final inning duties once he returns from his IL stint, but that remains to be seen exactly when that will be.
- Josh Staumont was utilized by the Royals in the eighth inning and promptly allowed two singles and a wild pitch to set up a game-tying sacrifice fly to AJ Pollock before inducing two more flyouts to end the inning. This outing marked Staumont’s first outing without recording a strikeout since opening day. The Royals would come back to win the game, getting to White Sox reliever Aaron Bummer in the 10th inning and proving Scott Barlow with the win after he struck out two in his scoreless ninth inning appearance. Taylor Clarke was the lucky recipient of his first save, striking out two himself in his perfect 10th inning of work. Barlow has now been used in back-to-back days and should be rested Friday after combining for 26 pitches in those two outings. Look for Staumont to get an opportunity at redemption Friday, or possibly Amir Garrett getting some work if the matchups dictate. Garrett hasn’t pitched in a game since Sunday.
- The Angels utilized five different pitchers Thursday, each one walking away with a decision. Archie Bradley, Aaron Loup, and Ryan Tepera each took home a hold, combining for three scoreless innings in relief of starter Reid Detmers, who would walk out of the game after five innings of work, ultimately being credited with his first win of the season. Raisel Iglesias picked up his fifth save of the year, pitching around a hit and striking out one. Iglesias has now seen action in three of the past four days but has kept his pitch count at 12 or below in each outing, so he shouldn’t be ruled out Friday if needed.
- Will Smith saw the light of the ninth inning for Atlanta on Thursday, striking out one in his scoreless outing, closing out the victory against the Cubs. Kenley Jansen had seen work in each of the past two days so it wasn’t too much of a surprise to see Smith out there at this point, it was just disappointing for Smith that the Atlanta bats put the save out of reach with a three-run eighth inning.
Photos by Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Doug Carlin (@Bdougals on Twitter)