Relievers To Stream for Wins and Saves – 9/1

With the MLB season in full swing, some bullpen hierarchies are becoming a lot clearer, while others have fallen apart. Though some managers may keep fantasy owners guessing, it is important to at least have an idea of who has a chance at a save, and who is most likely not even going to appear in a game today. Don’t sleep on saves! In a shortened season, they all count that much more.

Notes

• A few teams have a rare Tuesday off day—the Angels and Padres were both scheduled off, while the Athletics and Mariners have had their game postponed.
• Brandon Workman pitched the ninth inning with the Phillies up by four runs. He allowed two-run shot by Juan Soto, but finished out the game to give Philadelphia the win. Workman has allowed earned runs in three of his six appearances since moving over to the Phillies and one would have to wonder if manager Joe Girardi might give a shot at the final inning to his bullpen’s newest addition, David Phelps, after the next sign of trouble from Workman.

• Archie Bradley was traded to the Reds and should be considered for saves in Cincinnati moving forward. Raisel Iglesias has always had a seemingly long leash in the closer role, but Bradley has been a slightly more reliable reliever this season overall.
• Giovanny Gallegos picked up his second save of the season on Monday, after relieving Jake Woodford with one out in the ninth inning. Woodford gave up a three-run homer to Eugenio Suarez, bringing the game with two runs. Gallegos struck out the only two batters he faced and solidified the win for the Cardinals.

• Taylor Williams was traded to San Diego at the trade deadline, so Seattle will be looking for a new closer to finish the season and Yoshihisa Hirano is expected to take the gig to start. Unfortunately, Marco Gonzalez threw a complete game on Monday, so we received no first hand insight into the new bullpen situation and with the Mariners and Athletics postponing their next two games, we won’t see anything unfold until Thursday at the earliest.
• Cole Sulser was told he would be removed from the closer role in Baltimore. Tanner Scott may get the next opportunity for the orioles, but and one should expect Hunter Harvey to get into the ninth inning sooner or later.

• Anthony Bass pitched the top of the 11th inning for the Blue Jays and allowed two earned runs on two hits to give the Orioles the lead. This marks the second straight game Bass has given up a go ahead run in the final inning. The difference on Monday was that the Jays weren’t able to bail him out, and he was credited with the loss. This performance, combined with the back-to-back outings for Bass, should see Rafael Dolis closing out a save opportunity on Tuesday.
• Edwin Diaz pitched a one hit, no run ninth again for the Mets, but unfortunately it was with his team down by two rather than ahead by two. Meanwhile, Brandon Kintzler, who avoided all those trade rumors surrounding him on Monday, also pitched a one-hit, no-run ninth, but his team was up by two so he recorded his seventh save of the season.

• Mark Melancon pitched a perfect ninth for his seventh save of the season, while set up man Will Smith gave Melancon the save opportunity by giving up a run off three hits in the eighth inning while up by four. That’s two in a row for Melancon, Smith, and Chris Martin, so don’t be too surprised if you see Shane Greene close out the game on Tuesday for the Braves.
• Taylor Rogers was credited with the loss for the Twins on Monday, as he allowed three runs in the top of the ninth with the score tied at five a piece to start. All the runs were unearned due to a Max Kepler fielding error, but it was Rogers that couldn’t come back from it—allowing three hits after the error. Sergio Romo on the other hand pitched a perfect 1-2-3 eighth inning. Alex Colomé was able to close out his side of the ninth inning to record his seventh save on the year.

• As suggested, Greg Holland picked up the save for the Royals after Cleveland’s James Karinchak melted down and gave up two earned runs in the eighth inning. Scott Barlow threw a two-hit eighth inning to set up Holland en route to the victory.
• Devin Williams moved up to be the primary set up man for Josh Hader in Milwaukee after David Phelps was traded to Philadelphia, and he did just that on Monday—getting the final two outs of the seventh inning and striking out the side in the eighth. Williams was credited with the win after the Brewers scored a run in the bottom of the eighth, setting up Hader’s eighth save of the season.

• Nick Anderson still has yet to return from the IL, and the Rays went with Diego Castillo once again for the save opportunity. Castillo converted, his third on the year, allowing just one hit and picking up a strikeout along the way.
• It wasn’t a save situation for San Diego as they were up six runs going into the ninth inning, but it was nice to see Trevor Rosenthal take the ball to close out the game in his first appearance as a member of the Padres’ bullpen. He did so with a relatively clean inning (one hit, no runs, two strikeouts) and should now be considered the favorite for saves once the Padres come back on Wednesday. Drew Pomeranz struck out three, giving up a hit and walk in the eighth inning.