Bullpen Report: June 3, 2018

Bud Norris didn’t have the best start to his appearance on Saturday, as he allowed a game-tying solo home run to Austin Meadows in a save situation to begin the ninth inning. Coming into the day he had allowed 3 ER over his last 3 IP but was able to successfully convert all 11 of his save chances. Despite officially blowing his first save, he was able to strike out the side. We’ll have to keep a close eye on him based on his results recently, but his 14% SwStr, 34% K, and 2.07 SIERA suggest that he not only has a long leash at this point, but would be a solid fantasy contributor even without the saves. He’ll need to rack up a couple more rough outings before his color is changed on the table. Rookie Austin Gomber made his major league debut prior to Norris’s appearance and hurled three scoreless innings with two strikeouts and one walk.

On the other end of the diamond, Kyle Crick held a one-run lead in the eighth inning and has only allowed one run over his last 10 appearances. Unfortunately, Richard Rodriguez allowed a game-winning home run to Kolten Wong in what was only his second home run allowed on the season. That’s now three earned runs allowed in his last three appearances, but his F-Strike% (73) and SwStr% (16) have helped fuel a stellar 37% K and 3.5% BB. He’s the more intriguing asset if things continue to go south for Felipe Vazuez. Speaking of Vazquez, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle mentioned that his recent struggles could be attributed to him tipping pitches. There’s been speculation that an underlying injury could be in play here, but his velocity has remained stable. If his issues are being fueled by tipping pitches, then we’d assume that it’s something that could be remedied in rather short order. He’ll remain under the “hot seat” tag on the table, but I’d expect things to turn around in the near future.

Edwin Diaz has been through a rough patch – especially recently – but Saturday’s appearance against the Rays was a successful one. He struck out Wilson Ramos to begin the frame, then proceeded to get two ground outs to end things. The second out of the inning was a hard-hit grounder that ricocheted off Diaz, but he stayed in the game to convert his league-leading 20th save. Alex Colome secured his third hold in four appearances with the Mariners and has yet to give up a run thus far. He’s the obvious candidate to take over if Diaz begins to unravel like we saw at the beginning of 2017, but that time is far away as of right now. Heading into Saturday’s games Diaz ranked fourth among qualified relievers in K% (43%) and third in SwStr% (19.3%).

Josh Hader snared his 10th hold of the season against the White Sox on Saturday. He tallied another three strikeouts in his 1.1 IP and has not allowed a run over his last 14 IP. He’s now sitting on a 1.05 ERA and 0.67 WHIP in what is becoming a historic season.

Sueng-Hwan Oh entered a tie game in the eighth inning against the Tigers and ended up taking the loss. When it was all said and done he yielded 3 ER on 4 H and 1 BB while only getting two outs. Prior to yesterday’s blunder he had not allowed a run in five-straight appearances. His month of May delivered favorable results (1.93 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 10.3 K/9), so he’s likely to remain a high-leverage reliever who logs a decent amount of holds (four since May 19th) for the Jays moving forward. On the opposite end, the Tigers chose to give Joe Jimenez his first save opportunity since Shane Greene had pitched in three-straight days prior. He induced two groundball outs and one pop-out while steadily pumping out 96 mph plus with the fastball. He’s now allowed only one run over his last 12 appearances (11.1 IP) with a 15/1 K:BB ratio. His ERA for the season now sits at 2.84 to go along with a 28/7 K:BB ratio spanning his 28.1 IP. He’s the obvious handcuff to Greene.

Quick Hits
Zach Britton could potentially return in the middle of next week. He’s spun two scoreless frames with three strikeouts and one hit allowed during his rehab assignment thus far. He’ll likely assume the closer role upon his return. Craig Kimbrel secured his 19th save of the season in a clean outing against the Astros on Saturday, striking out two. Sean Doolittle nabbed his 14th save of the year against the Braves. He mowed through all three hitters he faced on eight pitches but failed to record a strikeout. Kelvin Herrera twirled a clean ninth inning against the Athletics – striking out one – on his way to his 13th save of the season. Jeurys Familia allowed a hit and a walk in the ninth inning against the Cubs on Saturday but was able to escape the frame without allowing a run, striking out two. Brandon Morrow twirled a scoreless frame in a non-save situation to drop his ERA to 0.89. Keone Kela converted his 13th save of the season against the Angels in the 10th inning on Saturday, striking out one and denying Mike Trout his bid at a cycle in the process. Blake Parker allowed only his second run in his last 14 appearances against the Rangers on Saturday, unfortunately it resulted in his first blown save of the season. He’s posted a 1.26 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, and a 29/8 K:BB ratio over that 26 IP span. Hunter Strickland nabbed his 12th save of the season in a clean inning against the Phillies. Mark Melancon was no where to be found.