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 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
Transaction and Schedule Notes
- We have a full slate of games on tap today, with no doubleheaders.
- On Thursday, only eight games were played, so 14 teams had the day off, including LAA, OAK, TOR, ATL, MIL, LAD, SF, MIA, WAS, PIT, TB, COL, DET, and MIN.
- Drew Steckenrider was reinstated from the restricted list. He spent the last three days there presumably because he is unvaccinated and thus couldn’t cross the border into Canada.
Yesterday’s Performances
- Neither starter pitched very effectively in the matchup between the White Sox and Royals. Vince Velasquez only lasted five innings for the Sox, while Carlos Hernández only went three for the Royals. Thus both bullpens got a lot of work in. Chicago won the game 6-4, and as such, their key relievers saw more usage. Bennett Sousa pitched a scoreless sixth to get the win. He was followed by Joe Kelly and Kendall Graveman, who both registered holds. Liam Hendriks pitched a scoreless ninth for his twelfth save of the season, though he made it interesting by giving up a couple of singles.
- The Royals got three innings out of Ronald Bolaños, followed by Gabe Speier, Dylan Coleman, and Amir Garrett. Garrett, incidentally, was ejected after his inning of work after having something seemingly not too kind to say to the second base umpire who had called a balk on him during the inning.
- The Mets/Cardinals game saw both closers blow saves. Mets starter Chris Bassitt got his team into the seventh inning with a 5-3 lead but put two runners on with one out. He was relieved by Drew Smith, who got out of the inning by inducing the rare sacrifice fly double play. This cut the lead to one where it stayed until the ninth, with Smith grabbing a hold. Edwin Díaz came in to close the game out but coughed up the tying run on a Paul Goldschmidt infield single. Colin Holderman took the mound for the top of the tenth and surrendered the ghost runner to give the Cardinals the lead. Fortunately for him, Pete Alonso saved the day in the bottom of the inning and gave him the win.
- Cardinals’ starter Dakota Hudson lasted only 4.2 innings, giving up four runs in the process. His replacement, Nick Wittgren, finished the fifth but not before giving up another run which put the Mets ahead 5-3. After this, the Cards bullpen pitched four scoreless innings behind Andre Pallante, Génesis Cabrera, and Ryan Helsley. Closer Giovanny Gallegos, however, gave up the game-winning two-run homer to Alonso in the bottom of the tenth.
- Cal Quantrill pitched seven strong innings against the Reds and ceded the game to his bullpen with a 1-1 tie. Trevor Stephan relieved him and promptly gave up three in the eighth (two earned) to put the Reds ahead to stay. Eli Morgan finished the game for the Guardians, throwing the final 1.1 innings.
- The Reds starter, Tyler Mahle, also pitched well. He left the game to his bullpen in the seventh inning, and they fared better than Clevelands. Luis Cessa picked up the win despite only throwing 11 pitches. Alexis Díaz grabbed a hold even though he gave up a run, a hit, and two walks while getting one out. Tony Santillan had to work hard for his second save, getting the final five outs of the game.
- The Padres won a pitcher’s duel over the Phillies behind Yu Darvish, who threw seven innings without giving up a run. Luis Garcia pitched the eighth and earned the hold, with Taylor Rogers closing the shutout. Rogers now leads the major leagues with 15 saves.
- Phillies’ starter Kyle Gibson went 5.2 innings and gave up two runs, which is all the Padres needed. The quartet of Seranthony Domínguez, Brad Hand, Andrew Bellatti, and Connor Brogdon finished the game for Philadelphia without ceding any more runs.
- The bullpens were busy in Baltimore’s 9-6 victory over the Yankees as both starters only lasted five innings. Orioles starter Bruce Zimmermann came out for the sixth but was relieved by Bryan Baker after the first two runners reached base. Baker got out of it, but not before two runs (charged to Zimmerman) crossed the plate. Baltimore came back in the bottom of the inning to take a 6-5 lead. Dillon Tate and Joey Krehbiel held New York in check, and both recorded holds. Closer Jorge López got the last out of the eighth but blew the save the next inning on a single by DJ LeMahieu. Felix Bautista got the final out of the ninth and ended up with the win when the O’s rallied.
- Miguel Castro took over for starter Jordan Montgomery in the bottom of the sixth inning and didn’t record an out (a catcher’s interference call on Kyle Higashioka didn’t help). Chad Green came in to stop the bleeding, but both of the inherited runners scored, giving the Orioles the 6-5 lead referred to above and earning him a blown save. Jonathan Loáisiga and Wandy Peralta held Baltimore in check until the ninth when Lucas Luetge gave up a three-run-walk-off HR to Anthony Santander.
- Both bullpens worked hard in the Red Sox’s 12-6 victory over the Mariners. Sox starter Rich Hill lasted only two innings before hitting the showers after giving up four runs on six hits, including a three-run shot to Dylan Moore. After that, it got better for Boston as five relievers combined to go the final seven innings, only allowing two more runs. Tanner Houck, who succeeded Hill on the mound, ended up with the win after pitching four shutout inning. John Schreiber and Matt Strahm earned holds, and Ryan Brasier pitched the ninth, giving up HR to Julio Rodríguez in the process.
- George Kirby started the game for Seattle and made it into the sixth despite giving up four runs. After Alex Verdugo doubled off him to start the inning, he was succeeded by Sergio Romo. Romo struggled to get through the inning, allowing Verdugo to score along with Trevor Story, who was on with a single. The base hit to Story may have been the most minor damage he did all night, as he put up the hat trick with three homers off the Mariners. The game got out of hand late as Boston put up six more runs between the seventh and eighth innings off Anthony Misiewicz, Wyatt Mills, and Danny Young.
- In a lower-scoring affair, the Diamondbacks edged the Cubs 3-1. D’backs starter Zac Gallen gave up the only run the Cubs would score over five innings. Four relievers – Sean Poppen, Joe Mantiply, Ian Kennedy, and Mark Melancon – closed the game out with nary a run scored. Melancon earned his eighth save of the season while the other three recorded holds.
- The Cubs bullpen did not give up any runs in relief of Marcus Stroman. Scott Effross, Brandon Hughes, and Robert Gsellman all pitched effectively in relief.
- Thursday’s final game saw the Astros down the Rangers 5-1 behind seven strong innings by Framber Valdez. Héctor Neris and Ryan Pressly finished the game in style, each striking out the side. Neris earned his sixth hold in the process.
- Glenn Otto pitched well for Texas, only giving up two runs over six innings. Josh Sborz came on in the seventh and had a rough night, giving up three runs in a little over an inning. Matt Moore got some work in getting the last two outs for the Rangers.
Bullpen Depth Charts