Bullpen Report: April, 7th 2018
As we enter the weekend, the Milwaukee bullpen continues to be the most volatile situation to speculate for saves. The word from the Brewers today regarding Corey Knebel was unfortunately bad news. According to the Milwaukee manager, Craig Counsell, Knebel will miss “a minimum of six weeks” with his left hamstring strain. For those who missed the injury, it was a lot worse than it sounds. Knebel fell to the ground after delivering a pitch in the 9th inning down 6 to 0 in Thursday night’s game against the Cubs.
The injury prevented Knebel from walking off the field on his own, so the lengthy timetable shouldn’t be much of a surprise. In the meantime, the first tea leaf of who may man the 9th inning duties from the team’s skipper was less than definitive. According to Jon Morosi of the MLB Network, Counsell mentioned four possible candidates for the closer role as the team waits for Knebel to recover. Friday night’s game for the Brewers was a close one but again didn’t provide much clarity on the closer situation.
Jeffress technically was charged an earned run off one hit after inheriting a base runner and allowing a triple to Javier Beaz, who then scored on a throwing error by Eric Sogard. Matt Albers pitched the eighth and ninth inning. He struck out two while allowing a hit and a walk in two innings of work. This might have been a positive sign for Albers for closer campaign but considering Jacob Barnes threw two innings (32 pitches) of scoreless ball the night before. If I was a betting man my money would be placed on Barnes as the better option between him and Albers but really that is more of a gut feeling than anything.
Cody Allen closed out the Indians win against the Royals giving him his second save of the season in an underwhelming fashion. Box score surfers may not have noticed this being a weak outing for the Indians closer but it was. Allen was set to face Jorge Soler, Alex Gordon, and Alcedes Escobar with a one run lead. Those three may objectively be three of the worst hitters in baseball and Allen walked the leadoff man before striking out Gordon and getting Escobar to ground into a double play to end the game. Allen’s control was shaky to say the least, throwing 14 pitches in the inning and only six for strikes. Allen is obviously not at risk of losing his role anytime soon but a disappointing outing considering the competition.
In the surprise move of the night, Oakland’s anointed ninth inning knight was brought into the game in the seventh inning to try and get out of a two out, two on jam. Treinen and his 97 MPH power sinker pitched better than the highlight shows may have shown. The inning was extended by a throwing error by Matt Chapman, then an easy decision to walk Mike Trout with a base open. The trouble came on a full count offering to Justin Upton. The result was a ball that was absolutely demolished for a three run home run.
Moving to the bottom of the inning the Angels chose to go with Keynan Middleton with a four run lead. Bedrosian had been used earlier in the game, giving up two runs. Jim Johnson also used in this game, allowing a run of his own. Assuming Parker was available in this game, it’s hard to tell exactly if he would have been used had it been a save situation. This will be one to keep a very close eye on as Middleton may be edging his way toward more of a shared situation for saves in Anaheim.
Quick Hits: Non-Save situation for Baltimore but Brad Brach pitched a clean 14th inning as the Orioles beat the Yankees. Trailing by three runs in the ninth, Alex Claudio retired three straight, striking out one in the Rangers loss against the Blue Jays. In the same game, Roberto Osuna got his third save of the season. He allowed two hits but managed to close the door on the Rangers without allowing a run to cross the plate. Ken Giles got some work in for AJ Hinch as the Astros tried to stay within striking distance in the ninth inning against San Diego. Giles was hit around a bit by the Padres but managed to get out of the inning with just one run scored.
Closer Grid:
[Green light, yellow light, red light: the colors represent the volatility of the bullpen order.]
Brad Hand had a solid save last night, on back to back days. 4/4 K/BB tho.
Did Yates get hurt ?
Looked better tonight. In Coors no less.