Bullpen Report: Friday August 28, 2015
Vin Scully is coming back for his 67th season, and everything else is secondary.
A.J. Ramos (and his 6.58 FIP and 8.18 ERA over the past thirty days) shut down the Nationals in the ninth for his 23rd save of the year. Carter Capps was still experiencing discomfort throwing his fastball on Monday, so his return is still up in the air, though he hints that he expects to be airing it out soon. For the Nationals, Jonathan Papelbon warmed up, but didn’t get in the game. He pitched each of the previous two nights, so I wouldn’t be entirely shocked if Drew Storen saw a save opportunity in Miami this weekend.
The Blue Jays bullpen looked great Friday night against the Tigers. Deadline acquisition Mark Lowe touched 96.9 mph and struck out the only hitter he faced on three pitches for his 15th hold. Aaron Sanchez only needed five pitches to retire the three Tigers he was tasked with, picking up his ninth hold. He upped the velocity a bit, getting up to 98.6. Which led to Roberto Osuna. He was back down to 96.9 and generated five whiffs on his twelve pitches, striking out the side. He has 16 saves on the season.
In San Francisco, the Cardinals will be without Trevor Rosenthal this weekend, as he’ll be with his wife for the birth of their second daughter. The Cards don’t have any shortage of options to close in his stead. Jonathan Broxton has closed. Kevin Siegrist has been outstanding. And quietly, Steve Cishek has a 0.79 ERA since the Cardinals acquired him from the Marlins. Any one of those three could be called upon for saves. Or Seth Maness. Or Sam Tuivailala. Don’t scoff. He was closing in Memphis and hasn’t given up a run in his last eight big league outings.
Glen Perkins is dealing with back spasms, and Paul Molitor says he won’t return to closing until he proves he’s healthy. He’s available this weekend, but Molitor will be going with Kevin Jepsen to close it out for the time being. Perkins pitched the seventh on Friday, striking out a pair for his first hold. The eighth inning belonged to Trevor May, and he also struck out a pair in a perfect frame. Jepsen didn’t want any part of a perfect inning, loading the bases before getting Jose Altuve to fly out to center to end the game, earning his ninth save. He did strike out a pair also, making it six for the Twins pen over the last three innings.
Of Note: It seems like every weekend lately we see an ex-starter record his first save of the year, and in most cases, the first save of their career. I make some terrible joke about the grid not changing, but it’s still fun to see guys like Kyle Lohse and Joe Blanton record their first saves. Friday night, Jerome Williams recorded his first save of the year, second on his career. He came on to protect a one-run lead in the eighth and the Phillies proceeded to pile up five runs in the bottom half. He stayed on for the ninth, giving Ken Giles a night off after throwing 30 pitches Thursday. Kelvin Herrera grabbed his 19th hold, but then Greg Holland came on, and looked like the Greg Holland we remembered from last year. Seven pitches, five sliders, three whiffs. Two strikeouts and his 29th save. A few more outings like that and we can see the colors changing on the Royals grid. Jonny Gomes joined the Braves bullpen for a night and fit right in, giving up a leadoff homer and a pair of doubles before getting his first out. It was the first time in 26 years that the Braves had brought a position player to the mound. Meaning Bobby Cox didn’t do it a single time. Carson Smith pitched 1.7 innings for the Mariners, his sixth such outing of at least five outs on the year. Tom Wilhelmsen only needed nine pitches to set the White Sox down in order for his fifth save of the year. Mark Melancon(42), Cody Allen(27) and Shawn Tolleson(27) earned saves.
Closer Grid:
[Green light, yellow light, red light: the colors represent the volatility of the bullpen order.]
Darren contributes to RotoGraphs when he isn’t watching the Braves or shoveling snow. Follow him on Twitter @shinesie.
Really, nothing on the shit storm that was Tazawa’s latest attempt at pitching in the major leagues? 4 walks and a hit in 2/3 of an inning. What team actually rosters someone who publicly claims he is not cut out for the 9th inning? I don’t even know what else to do but laugh…pathetic! And to think, I was contemplating dropping Bruce Rondon instead…