Bullpen Report: July 24, 2019

Several normally-reliable closers blew saves on Tuesday night. Neither Ken Giles nor Will Smith got saves, but the former picked up a win against the Indians, and the latter pitched a pair of scoreless innings versus the Cubs. Given how the night went for other top closers, Giles’ and Smith’s fantasy owners should feel fortunate.

The slugfest between the Yankees and the Twins was rough on starters and relievers alike, and both team’s closers blew a chance at a save. Initially, it looked as if Taylor Rogers was going to put an end to the scoring — and the game. With just six pitches, he set down Gleyber Torres and Giovanny Urshela, and then he got a 1-2 count on Mike Tauchman. Rogers missed on his next three pitches, putting Tauchman on first base. His first pitch to Aaron Hicks was right down the middle, and the Yankees’ center fielder deposited it in the Yankees’ bullpen, turning an 11-10 deficit into a 12-11 lead.

Aroldis Chapman, who ranks sixth in Roto value among relievers (per ESPN’s Player Rater), was already having a rough month before Tuesday night’s game, and poor control has been an issue. It was yet again, as he entered in the bottom of the ninth inning and walked the first three Twins he faced. That allowed Jorge Polanco to tie the game with a sacrifice fly. Chapman threw only eight of his 29 pitches in the strike zone, and of his 21 out-of-zone pitches, only two drew a swing. He now has a 37.5 percent Zone% and 22.5 percent O-Swing% for the month of July.

The Yankees regained the lead in the top of the 10th off Kohl Stewart, and Adam Ottavino came close to handing it back to the Twins, issuing three walks of his own. However, Chad Green was summoned to get the final out, and in retiring Max Kepler, he recorded his first save of 2019.

In addition to his protracted control issues, Chapman averaged 96.3 mph on his fastball on Tuesday night, which is nearly 2 mph below his season-to-date mark. Owners should watch this situation closely, and it might not be a bad idea to make a speculative bid on Zack Britton.

Entering Tuesday night’s game against the Athletics, Roberto Osuna was looking to rebound from a rough stretch as well. He had allowed three runs on six hits over his previous 4.2 innings, but he had also recorded three saves over that five-appearance stretch. He had a chance to make it four saves in six outings when he had to relieve Wade Miley in the top of the ninth inning after the Astros’ starter walked Marcus Semien and allowed a Matt Chapman single in his effort to complete a 2-0 win. The lead vanished when Osuna coughed up a home run to Matt Olson — the first batter he faced. While Osuna was charged with his fourth blown save, he was spared the loss, as the Astros tied the game against Joakim Soria in the bottom of the ninth. Soria was called on to close for the A’s, because Liam Hendriks was unavailable after having pitched against the Twins on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Osuna has now allowed home runs in consecutive appearances. That unto itself is not a cause for concern, but as a flyball pitcher who induces a lot of swings on pitches in the strike zone, he is at risk of having stretches where he gives up homers. Since July 7, Osuna has induced swings on in-zone pitches at a 77.8 percent rate, which is high, even for him.

When it comes to being flyball-prone, Osuna has nothing on Brad Hand. Despite a 19.1 percent ground ball rate, the Indians’ lefty had allowed only one home run through June 24. Over the eight innings he has pitched since then, Hand has allowed four home runs, with the latest one coming on Tuesday night against Blue Jays. Working with a 1-0 margin, Hand gave up a one-out homer to Justin Smoak, leaving him with just his second blown save of the season.

As has been discussed in recent installments of the Bullpen Report, the Red Sox’s closer situation is very much in flux, but Brandon Workman is clearly at the head of the list of closer candidates for now. He was given a chance at a two-inning save against the Rays on Tuesday night, and he got through the eighth inning without incident. He allowed a leadoff single to Matt Duffy in the ninth, but was a strike away from sixth save. However, after having Willy Adames in an 0-2 count, he walked him, and then an RBI single from Ji-Man Choi followed. Marcus Walden relieved Workman after he loaded the bases with a walk to Travis d’Arnaud, and in walking Tommy Pham on four pitches, he brought in a run that shaved the Red Sox’s lead to 5-4. He got Austin Meadows to ground out, sparing Workman with a blown save, and for Walden, it was his second save of the season.

For the second time in six days, Andrew Miller got a save for the Cardinals, filling in for a heavily-used Carlos Martinez. Miller pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning against the Pirates and has now allowed two runs over his last nine innings on four hits and two walks. He has also struck out 13 batters over this stretch. Giovanny Gallegos provided the bridge between starter Dakota Hudson and Miller, pitching 1.2 perfect innings. Since May 26, Gallegos has allowed two runs over 27.2 innings with 37 strikeouts and two walks.

Quick hits: Edwin Diaz (22), Ian Kennedy (18) and Hansel Robles (15) also recorded saves on Tuesday night…Sal Romano got the first save of his career, giving up one run over the final three innings of the Reds’ 14-6 win over the Brewers. It was also Romano’s first appearance with the Reds this season…A.J. Hinch has been reluctant to use Ryan Pressly in recent days due to his sore knee. Also, the Astros placed Josh James on the IL on Tuesday with right arm fatigue…The Pirates suspended Keone Kela for two games in response to his altercation with Hector Morales, a Pirates team official. Kela has not pitched since May 4, as he has been on the IL with right shoulder inflammation. He is expected to return to the active roster after his suspension…In his second appearance since moving to the Phillies’ bullpen, Nick Pivetta pitched 3.2 scoreless, no-hit innings in a 3-2, 15-inning win over the Tigers…Rafael Montero made his first appearance since undergoing Tommy John surgery last year, pitching two scoreless innings for the Rangers in their 7-2 win over the Mariners.