Bullpen Report: April 23, 2016
Keone Kela had surgery to remove a bone spur and will miss around three months. The closer and set-up roles remain intact for now, but the next in line is a little foggy. Jake Diekman seems like a solid option to fill that role based on his numbers so far. I put Anthony Barnette in that role for now since he was given the 7th inning today with a 2-1 lead, and had a clean inning. Not saying that he is better than Diekman, but simply based on potential usage, it looks like Barnette will at least be given a shot to be next in line. As I write about Barnette, Sam Dyson lets up a home run to Todd Frazier that ties up the game. Then gives up the go-ahead run through a series of walks, HBPs, and hits. Dyson is still strong enough to keep the set-up role and is still in line for saves if Shawn Tolleson falters. Speaking of blowing the lead, David Robertson blew his first save of the year. After allowing a lead-off walk to Desmond, Desmond advanced to third on an error during his stolen base. He would then score on a sacrifice fly. Robertson also allowed a single, but also had two strikeouts.
An announcement has yet to be made, but Ryan Madson was given another save opportunity and he successfully closed it out yesterday for his seventh save. Sean Doolittle came in to get one out, and let up a hit, a walk, and an inherited runner before getting out of a jam in the 8th, not helping his cause to get more save opportunities. Still, Madson pitching well may hurt his cause for save opportunities at some point if Bob Melvin is going with his best reliever in those high leverage situations.
Andrew Bailey made his season debut and the Phillies got their moneys worth, as he threw 43 pitches over 2 innings with 2 K’s. Bailey had 10 K’s over 5 innings in the AAA, so he will be worth monitoring moving forward. David Hernandez also pitched 2 scoreless innings. Then Dalier Hinojosa did everything he could to make a 3-run lead interesting by giving up two runs. The Phillies would extend their lead and bring in Jeanmar Gomez for the non-save situation, who was perfect to end the game.
Quick Hits: Padres had a 2-1 lead over the Cardinals, until their bullpen lost control in the 7th. Kevin Quackenbush, Brad Hand, and Carlos Villanueva all gave up runs in the 7th. In that same game, Seung Hwan Oh continue to looks dominant striking out 3 and allowing one batter to reach on an error, needing only 14 pitches and 12 of them were strikes. The Pirates’ A.J. Schugel had a strong start to the short season, but had an 8th inning to forget about giving up five runs on four hits. Jeremy Jeffress had not pitched since Tuesday, so he came in for the Brewers down by a run and proceeded to give up three runs. Diamondbacks 7th-8th inning pitchers, Tyler Clippard and Daniel Hudson, both pitched scoreless innings to earn their 2nd and 3rd holds of the season, respectively. Saves so far for the night: Papelbon (7), and Jansen (8).
Closer Grid:
[Green light, yellow light, red light: the colors represent the volatility of the bullpen order.]
didnt Cotham get lit up tonight?
Yup. Gave up 2 runs in the 7th and pitched the first 2 outs of the 8th, but kept walking guys, so he was yanked for Cingrani.
*Pitched in the 7th* so that doesn’t sound much like closer.