Dellin Betances doesn’t have Dellin Betances to set him up, except when he does. Joe Girardi was forced to bring him in with one out in the eighth inning against the Marlins when Justin Wilson wasn’t able to take care of his business. He walked Adeiny Hechavarria and gave up a single to Ichiro Suzuki, and that was it for him. Betances got a grounder to first that Garrett Jones used to nab Dee Gordon at home, then got a liner to right to end the inning. It’s great to see a team bring their best reliever out with the game on the line, and not have to feel as though they have to wait for the start of the ninth. Betances hadn’t pitched since Sunday, so 24 pitches tonight are not a big deal. He worked around a hit and a single, striking out two to claim his fourth save on the year.

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The Braves are now three games below .500, and a huge reason is because, as we’re reminded on an almost daily basis by Chip Caray, the Braves were unable to outscore their bullpen again. Mike Foltynewicz couldn’t get past the fifth inning, and Brandon Cunniff had to come in to spell him. He struck out a pair of Mets, but not before giving up a bomb to Travis D’Arnaud and walking a pair. Luis Avilan gave up a three-run homer to Juan Lagares in the sixth, to erase all memory of the Braves 8-3 lead. New additions David Aardsma and Dana Eveland each pitched a scoreless frame. The Braves will need that to continue, or maybe they turn to a few of their minor-league starters to work out of the pen in Atlanta in an effort to keep their innings down, and also start reaping benefits from them sooner rather than later. Matt Wisler and Manny Banuelos would seem to be logical options if the Braves choose that route.

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Sorry for the lateness of the Bullpen Report today, but here it is.

Who is closing for the Chicago Cubs today? Jason Motte pitched a perfect eighth, and Pedro Strop pitched the top of the ninth in a tie game Friday, the spot usually reserved for the closer. He struck out one and didn’t give up a single baserunner. Hector Rondon was saddled with the loss after he gave up a pair of hits and was the victim of some shoddy fielding behind him, as a Kris Bryant error greased the track for the Reds to score one in the top of the tenth. Rondon did give up those two hits, so he could have mitigated the error, but this is one reason why he isn’t the number one choice to close right now. Strop has slid into the closer slot on the grid for today, but who knows what the grid will look like Sunday night. Across the diamond, J.J. Hoover sucked up his fifth win of the year after throwing two scoreless innings and lowering his ERA to 1.71. Aroldis Chapman struck out a pair of Cubs in the bottom of the tenth to procure the save, his 13th.

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Pedro Strop replaced Hector Rondon on Saturday after Rondon walked the leadoff hitter in the ninth. Joe Maddon refused to anoint Strop as the Cubs new closer, but you should definitely monitor this situation and don’t be shy about picking up Strop if he’s available.

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Now is likely the time to pick up Rafael Soriano. The Blue Jays have reportedly been sniffing around him, and while watching the Braves bullpen give up another fistful of runs, you’d think they’d be in the mix as well if the price is right. The Braves pen has the worst ERA in the majors and didn’t help their case on Friday, as they combined to give up six runs in four innings of work. Mark Melancon induced a game-ending double play out of A.J. Pierzynski, but he threw the comebacker into center field to put runners on the corners. He was able to get another game-ending double play, but this time made sure it was hit at an infielder, notching his 17th save.

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Greg Holland’s velocity has been up and down this season, but he was hitting his usual ceiling of just above 95 against the Cubs on Friday. He struck out two in his perfect inning, throwing nine of his ten pitches for strikes. It wasn’t a save situation, but he looked sharp in his first appearance since Monday. Wade Davis struck out the side in his perfect eighth to keep his ERA at 0.00 on the year. Pedro Strop had another shaky outing for the Cubs, as he gave up three runs, one of them earned, in a third of an inning. He entered May with an ERA of 0.00 and has raised it to 4.09 with two days left in the month. He’s still sitting next in line for saves behind Hector Rondon, but how long will it be before someone like Justin Grimm takes that spot? The Cubs miss Neil Ramirez in that role.

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John Axford nailed down the win for the Rockies over the Reds and firmed up the bullpen order in Colorado. It’s time we finally turned them green. And no, that’s not a terrible marijuana joke, so just cool your jets. He struck out one and lowered his ERA to a sterling 0.75. His BB% is a pretty ugly 13.6%, he’s owner of a 92.3% LOB% and a 4.51 xFIP. Just because those numbers aren’t pretty doesn’t mean he’s in danger of losing his job. He’ll have to start coughing up leads for the color to change back to a yellow or red. He’s safe for now, but monitor his results.

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In one of the few save opportunities that we saw on Sunday, Jason Grilli struck out three Brewers and earned his thirteenth save of the year. I don’t think anyone has any illusions about the where the Braves will be at the trade deadline, so Grilli likely won’t be saving games in Atlanta in August and September. The difference between fantasy owners of Jason Grilli and the Atlanta Braves, is that his trade value could be very different depending on where and if he gets moved. If he’s traded to a team that is going to use him in the eighth, then you’re going to be missing out on saves. Maybe now is the time to look at moving him if you have him, while you know that he’ll be saving games for a few more months at least, and the prospect of his saves drying up is still well off in the distance.
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Drew Storen is having a tremendous year closing games for the Nationals. He recorded his thirteenth save of the year, and lowered his ERA to 1.04 on Friday night. His FIP is 1.39 so he’s not fluking his way into anything. His K%-BB% is sitting at 28.1%, well above his career mark of 15.9%. His pitch mix and velocity haven’t changed much, but he’s getting more takes on pitches in the zone, with a Z-swing% of 56.1% which is well below the league average of 66.6% for relievers, and is down from the 61.5% mark he’s compiled over his career. And it’s not as if Wilson Ramos is stealing a pile of extra strikes for him, as he’s sitting 20th amongst catchers in extra strikes. His Z-contact% is way down too, so guys are missing the pitches that they do swing at in the zone. It’s sitting at 73.4%, way down from his career mark of 86.6% and the league average of 85.0%. Storen is having a heck of a year so far. In other Nationals news, Casey Janssen has been reinstated and he’s replacing Tanner Roark on the grid, as Roark is being tabbed to potentially start next week. Read the rest of this entry »

Happy Victoria Day long weekend! Here’s the bullpen report for Sunday with some Saturday tidbits sprinkled in.

The Giants decided that they wanted pretty much everyone in the bullpen to get a hold today. After Chris Heston struggled against the Reds, Yusmiero Petit shut them down for three innings, and he ended up with the win after Javier Lopez, George Kontos, Jeremy Affeldt and Sergio Romo paraded in from the pen to each earn a hold. Santiago Casilla ended the game in delicious fashion, striking out the side on nine pitches. He’s not known as being a strikeout guy, as his 9.8% K%-BB% is exactly in line with his career mark. It was his ninth save on the season.

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