Bullpen Report: Friday, June 12, 2015
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.
The situation in Tampa Bay is up the air as well. Steve Geltz picked up his seventh hold with a strong eighth inning, paving the way for Jake McGee to come in and nail it down in the ninth. He struck out two in a perfect frame and lowered his ERA to 2.70 on the year. Brad Boxberger had pitched two straight days heading into play on Friday, and even though it was only for 22 pitches over the two days, the Rays weren’t going to take any chances with his recent tricep tightness. Kevin Jepsen had thrown 46 pitches over the two previous days, so he was getting the day off Friday.
The Blue Jays haven’t had a save opportunity in forever, so Roberto Osuna made sure that the Jays got a chance Friday night. The Jays were up by five in the eighth, so Osuna gave up a run on a hit and a pair of walks, handing the ball off to Brett Cecil to clean up his mess and try for their first save in almost 40 games. Cecil also gave up a run and walked a pair, but struck out two and climbed into a tie for 35th place on the saves leaderboard with three.
Of Note: Jeurys Familia surrendered a hit and walked a pair of Braves, but Nick Markakis grounded into a double play to end the game and Familia grabbed his 18th save. Evan Scribner was unable to protect a one-run lead in the eighth inning, giving up a pair of runs to the Angels, allowing Huston Street to have a save opportunity. He worked around a hit and a walk and earned his 18th save. Kenley Jansen struck out three Padres for his eighth save. In Arizona, Daniel Hudson pitched the eighth and Brad Ziegler got the save in the ninth, his seventh. The Tigers sent Angel Nesbitt to AAA, so he is off the closer grid. Al Alburquerque slots in behind Joba Chamberlain. Steve Cishek makes his return to the closer grid, tentatively bumping Mike Dunn off. He pitched six scoreless innings in AA with five strikeouts and zero walks. It’ll be interesting to see how he’s deployed. It’s not a terrible idea to snag him in a deep league. Or is it? I’ll be trying to snag him.
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.
You and me both on Cishek. Hey, was Ramos ever *formally* named closer? I wonder if it’s cheaper long term for the Marlins just to put Cishek back in there as soon as he proves himself. He finally has his velocity up, looks like.
expect that Capps has been arguably the most effective reliever in baseball since being recalled
No argument on facts, but this piece really made me look at closer battles differently.
http://www.hardballtimes.com/how-paying-established-closers-saves-teams-money/