Bullpen Report: June 17, 2018

In the nine days since Jeurys Familia was shelved with a sore right shoulder, the Mets have had just one save situation. They did not have one on Saturday against the Diamondbacks, but in holding a 5-1 lead over the final three innings, they were close to having one. Mickey Callaway went with the same late-inning combination that he used in the save situation against the Yankees on June 1o: Robert Gsellman providing the bridge from the starter in the seventh and eighth innings to Anthony Swarzak in the ninth.

Both pitchers performed admirably in Familia’s absence, but they are now expected to return to their prior roles, as the Mets are planning on activating their closer on Sunday. Familia is expected to move immediately back into the closer’s role.

Ryan Tepera has been uneven since taking over the Blue Jays’ closer role, allowing at least one run in three of eight appearances, but John Gibbons‘ choice of Tyler Clippard to preserve a 2-0 lead in the ninth inning against the Nationals on Saturday does not necessarily mean he has changed either reliever’s role. On Twitter, the team’s radio play-by-play announcer, Mike Wilner, surmised that Tepera was getting rest after having pitched in two of the previous three games, including a 32-pitch performance three days prior. However, it does appear that Gibbons has moved Aaron Loup into a higher-leverage role. Each of the lefty’s eight appearances in June have entailed pitching in the eighth inning, and he has pitched in each of the Blue Jays’ last three games with either a slim lead or a tie.

Just as Hector Neris appeared to have been dropped from the Phillies’ closer committee, he was called on to save Saturday’s 4-1 win against the Brewers. Gabe Kapler revealed in a postgame interview that he intended to use Seranthony Dominguez in the ninth after after he held the Brewers scoreless in the eighth inning. However, when Nick Williams led off the top of the ninth with a single, Kapler decided to pinch-hit for Dominguez two batters later and try to extend the Phillies’ lead. In flying out, pinch hitter Aaron Altherr failed to advance Williams. With their three-run lead intact, Neris faced the Brewers in the bottom of the inning, and Kapler chose him in part because he liked the matchups against Lorenzo Cain, Travis Shaw and Ryan Braun. Neris set them down in order for his 10th save of the season.

What this episode showed is that Kapler’s default mode is to turn to Dominguez as his closer, but that he will go off script if the score and matchups dictate using a different reliever in a save situation.

Part of what had made Neris untrustworthy in a high-leverage role was his propensity for allowing home runs, which has been fueled by a 46.7 percent pull rate on flyballs. That mark is the highest for any reliever who has allowed at least 30 flyballs this season, but on Saturday, the Twins’ Matt Magill showed how being near the other end of that leaderboard has worked in his favor. Pitching in relief of Fernando Romero, Magill held the Indians hitless and scoreless for three innings, even though he got only one strikeout and no ground balls. None of the eight flies or line drives hit off Magill were pulled. The 28-year-old righty has the eighth-lowest pull rate on flyballs (12.1 percent) of any pitcher with at least 30 flyballs.

As a flyball pitcher (36.4 percent ground ball rate) who has been pounding the strike zone at a 47.5 percent rate, Magill is a candidate to help owners in deep leagues who need to lower their WHIP. He probably won’t maintain his current 0.80 mark, but he could remain close enough to it while providing enough innings to make a dent.

Quick hits: Edwin Diaz struck out the side against the Red Sox to notch his major league-leading 27th save. It was the sixth time this season that the Mariners’ closer had struck out all three batters he faced…With Kyle Barraclough getting rested on Saturday, Drew Steckenrider got a save opportunity against the Orioles. He pitched a scoreless ninth inning to earn his first save of the season and the second save of his career…Jose Leclerc picked up his second win of the season with a perfect eighth inning against the Rockies. He has now made 10 straight appearances without allowing an extra-base hit and 37 consecutive appearances spanning 35.1 innings without allowing a home run. The last batter to homer off Leclerc was George Springer, who hit a two-run shot off him on Aug. 11, 2017…Richard Bleier is scheduled to have season-ending surgery to repair a Grade 3 tear in his left lat on Tuesday. The Orioles’ lefty ends his season with a 1.93 ERA and nine holds.