Bullpen Report: August 7, 2016

Ah, the beauty of the Holds statistic. Up by 3, Jeremy Jeffress gave up two runs in the 8^th and then Sam Dyson blew his third save of the season giving up a run in the 9^th. Jeffress earns a hold (3) and Dyson is stuck with the blown save. I know I’m probably preaching to the choir, but this is one of those glaring statistical injustices it would seem. Either way, the Rangers would come back and win the game as Matt Bush pitched two scoreless innings for the W (5). I guess the real bullpen story of this game falls on the Houston side as Will Harris’ struggles continue after walking a batter and hitting the next. After a stolen base and a fielder’s choice leaving runner’s on second and third, Ken Giles came in and gave up a double to score two runs on Harris’ docket. That’s when things got interesting for Giles who would allow 3 more baserunners over 1.2 innings, while striking out six Rangers. Yes, I know that doesn’t seem to make mathematical sense, but Giles managed to strike out Nomar Mazara on a wild pitch after allowing a Mitch Moreland double. He would then hit Ryan Rua to load the bases. Then Giles settled down and struck out the side.

A few commenters have called for Edubray Ramos to make an appearance on the grid, and now he is finally on. The Phillies used him in the 7^th today and it appears they are showcasing him in an attempt to possibly trade him this winter. He struggled a bit today walking the first two batters, but then managed to get the ever-common 5-4-3 triple play to escape the jam. He has an excellent K rate (28.8%) and BB rate (5.5%), which has carried over from his minor league performances. The 23-year old has a 3.20 ERA (2.57 FIP), averages 94.9 on his fastball to go along with a slider he throws 39% of the time. With that triple play today, he earned his 9^th hold of the season.

I don’t know what it is going on with Miami. After earning the save on Friday and not pitching on Saturday, Don Mattingly elected not to use A.J. Ramos with a 3-run lead in Colorado in the 9^th. Instead, he called on Fernando Rodney who had a rough outing on Friday giving up three runs in a third of an inning. Well, it worked anyway as Rodney pitched a clean inning for the save (18). I know Ramos had an epic meltdown last Wednesday, but it seems odd to use him Friday for the save and then not use him Sunday. I have not heard why he didn’t pitch and it could be an issue of rest. Don’t think there is a reason to be concerned since no stories are breaking, so we’ll leave it on green for now.

Quick Hits: Edwin Diaz was unavailable today, so Tom Wilhelmsen was called on in the 9^th after James Paxton was hit on the elbow with a line drive, and earned the save (1). Francisco Rodriguez was brought into a tie game in the 9^th after pitching two straight games, and gave up a two-run homer to Neil Walker. Ubaldo Jimenez pitched the last 3 innings in the Orioles blowout for his first save. Jeurys Familia (39), Aroldis Chapman (23), Jeanmar Gomez (29), Mark Melancon (31), Kenley Jansen (34), Jim Johnson (8), and Brandon Kintzler (9) all earned saves today.

Closer Grid:

[Green light, yellow light, red light: the colors represent the volatility of the bullpen order.]