Bullpen Report: June 3, 2019

It has not been easy to predict who will get the Red Sox’s next save on any given day, but with 20-20 hindsight, there has usually been a clear logic to Alex Cora’s bullpen usage decisions. I will fully admit, though, that I am lacking for a convincing explanation as to why he had Matt Barnes pitch the eighth inning with an 8-2 lead against the Yankees on Sunday night.

Perhaps Barnes needed to get some work in? Not likely, as he, Brandon Workman and Marcus Walden all pitched with the Red Sox trailing on Saturday after not having been used in four days. Maybe Cora was being extra cautious with a tough part of the Yankees’ lineup coming up? That’s more likely, as the 1-2-3 hitters — DJ LeMahieu, Luke Voit and Gary Sanchez kicked off the Yankees’ portion of the inning. Barnes allowed each of them to reach base, and then LeMahieu scored on a balk. Voit and Sanchez would eventually score, too, whittling the Red Sox’s lead down to three runs.

They carried their 8-5 advantage into the bottom of the ninth, and neither Workman nor Walden had been used yet. Cora went with Workman, who allowed only a Clint Frazier single on his way to his second save. It’s not clear if this means that Workman has superseded Walden as Cora’s go-to closer when Barnes is unavailable, but it’s worth noting that Walden has allowed three runs on eight hits and two walks over his last 5.2 innings. Workman, for his part, has allowed only one run in his last 7.1 innings with 11 strikeouts. He has allowed only four hits but he has also issued four walks.

Workman is not the only one of the Red Sox’s three late-inning relievers to be experiencing some control issues. On Sunday, Barnes walked both Voit and Sanchez, and over his last 4.2 innings, he has issued six walks while throwing only 31.0 percent of his pitches in the strike zone. The situation looks as wide open as ever, but the sparsely-owned Workman is worth adding in deeper leagues.

When the Twins and Rays get together, there is all kinds of potential for some bullpen fluidity. We saw a hint of it on Friday, when Taylor Rogers made his longest appearance of the season, tossing 2.1 innings and getting the win. On Sunday, with the Twins barely hanging on to a 7-5 lead, it was Blake Parker getting the call with two outs in the seventh inning. While it’s earlier than we are accustomed to seeing Parker enter a game, it’s not hard to see why Rocco Baldelli chose this spot for arguably his most trusted reliever. Matt Magill and Ryne Harper started off the inning by allowing the Rays to rally from a 7-0 deficit to cut the lead down to two runs. Parker inherited runners on the corners with two outs, but he struck out Willy Adames to end the threat.

With the Twins getting two runs back in the top of the eighth on Jonathan Schoop’s home run, Parker came back for the bottom of the inning. The Rays countered with a Christian Arroyo two-run homer, and they were still two runs down entering the bottom of the ninth. Rogers was apparently fully rested from Friday’s long outing, as he struck out Austin Meadows, Yandy Diaz and Brandon Lowe in succession to earn his fifth save.

Sunday’s progression of events probably won’t mean that Rogers will have the upper hand in getting save opportunities going forward, but he isn’t hurting his case to be a full-time closer if Parker goes into a serious funk. Since giving up a Yasmani Grandal leadoff homer on Tuesday, Rogers has allowed only a single over four innings with six strikeouts.

Jordan Hicks got yanked from the Cardinals’ 2-1 win over the Cubs after he issued a one-out walk to Willson Contreras and allowed a single to Jason Heyward on a 3-1 pitch. John Gant replaced Hicks, and though he allowed Contreras to score, he got the final two outs to record his third save. After the game, Mike Shildt confirmed that he still had confidence in Hicks and that he just “wanted to get a different look” by finishing up with Gant.

One has to wonder for how much longer Bob Melvin will feel confident about using Lou Trivino in high-leverage situations. The embattled righty did pitch a perfect top of the 11th inning against the Astros, but in the top of the 12th, he allowed them to take a two-run lead on three singles and a walk. Trivino has now taken losses in each of his last three outings, giving up eight runs (seven earned) in 3.2 innings.

Blake Treinen held the Astros scoreless in the ninth and 10th innings, though he was shaky in the latter frame, as he allowed an Alex Bregman single and issued a pair of walks. He has now allowed nine hits and four walks over his last six innings.

Quick hits: Alex Colome and Sean Doolittle both recorded their 12th saves of the season on Sunday…With Josh Hader having thrown 34 pitches on Saturday, and Jeremy Jeffress having thrown a combined 46 pitches on Thursday and Saturday, Corbin Burnes was called into a save situation against the Pirates on Sunday. He relieved Alex Claudio with one out in the bottom of the ninth and retired Elias Diaz and Kevin Newman for his first save of the season in the Brewers’ 4-2 win…Pedro Strop (hamstring) is expected to get activated from the IL on Monday. It is not yet clear if Strop will immediately return to the closer role for the Cubs…Hunter Strickland threw a 20-pitch bullpen session on Sunday. It was the first time he had thrown off a mound since going on the IL for an oblique injury in late March. He is still on track to return in the middle of this month…The Rays placed Jose Alvarado on the family medical emergency list on Sunday…Tony Cingrani will soon have arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder. He has not made an appearance this season, and now is not likely to pitch at all in 2019.