Bullpen Report: June 30, 2018

Predictably, Sam Dyson struggled as the interim closer with Hunter Strickland sidelined due to a self inflicted injury. With intriguing arms like Reyes Moronta, Tony Watson and Will Smith, the Giants had options for the ninth inning with better ratios and performance over the last month. Bruce Bochy opted for Will Smith in the ninth inning in Arizona for a chance to record his first save since April 13th, 2014. Smith responded with a clean inning and striking out two. Returning from a myriad of injuries, Smith’s been terrific this season and especially in June. His 0.75 ERA, 0.67 WHIP and 21 strikeouts to four walks punctuate how good Smith’s been over his last 12 innings.

Delving a bit deeper, Smith’s 24 swinging strike percentage along with a 47.8 O-swing percentage (chase rate) combined with his 56.7 percent contact allowed fuel his surge in June. On the season, Smith’s limited left-handed hitters to a .180/.200/.231 slash line in 10.2 innings with 18 strikeouts and right-handed hitters to a .071/.191/.103 average against with 15 strikeouts. If Smith remains the preferred option for Bochy going forward, both Tony Watson and Reyes Moronta will remain on the periphery of saves if Smith needs a break. Watson possesses closer experience and currently in the midst of a 13.1 scoreless inning streak spanning 14 outings. Moronta notched his fourth hold last night and has 11 strikeouts, three wins and a save with a 3.71 ERA his last 12 games.

Mixed signals from the Blue Jays on Friday. First, the team announced it anticipates Roberto Osuna to resume his job as closer when eligible on August fifth. Previous comments from the team did not seem as confident, especially given the team’s need for positive publicity in light of this sensitive issue. This could be a smokescreen with Osuna being in trade rumors, but it remains to be seen. Osuna’s next court date is July ninth and this could be fluid. As for the team on the field, Tyler Clippard recorded his fifth save, and second in three outings, not Ryan Tepera on Friday night. Manager John Gibbons pointed to Tepera’s most recent blown save as the low point of the season. Although Tepera’s six for eight in save chances, it appears Clippard has emerged in a committee or the preferred option with July on the horizon. Clippard’s pitched well in June with a 2.93 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 17 strikeouts to one walk. Stay tuned to see how Toronto handles it’s next save opportunity. *Update, at 11 a.m. EST, the Blue Jays placed Ryan Tepera on the disabled list with “tenderness” in his right elbow (inflammation). It’s Clippard’s job with Oh setting up going forward.

Just when it seemed like the Rays bullpen would settle in, Jose Alvarado gets the one out save on Friday replacing Sergio Romo with a runner on in the ninth inning. Romo had saved the six prior games for Tampa Bay after the trade of Alex Colome, so it remains to be seen if this was match-up based or a sneak preview of things to come. In spite of the hit to Evan Gattis, Romo’s turned in 12 scoreless outings of his last 13 appearances with his only blemish a blown save in Houston. In June, Romo’s pitched 12 innings with a 1.50 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 10 strikeouts and three walks. As for Alvarado, the last time he pitched, he also played first base but did not retire one of the three hitters he faced against the Nationals. Chalking this up to the match-up but trusting the Rays bullpen remains difficult to do.

Wade Davis did record save number 23, in 27 chances this year, but allowed a home run to Justin Turner in the process. So far in June, Davis has yielded 11 runs (10 earned) in 9.2 innings on 10 hits and walking seven with 11 strikeouts for a 9.31 ERA and 1.76 WHIP. Hardly trustworthy numbers, but in his current bullpen, the Rockies need Davis to close games. He’s given up at least a run in nine of his 35 appearances this year including four of the last eight. Davis has lost two games this month with five saves but remains an enigma for his owners due to recent performance.

With Arodys Vizcaino poised to return as soon as Sunday, the Braves bullpen finally recorded a save with him sidelined. Although A.J. Minter worked in the ninth inning two times with Vizcaino out, Dan Winkler notched his first save getting the last two outs while striking out one. Winkler entered June with a sparkling 0.77 ERA in 23.1 innings but has struggled this month with a 6.75 ERA in 9.1 innings. He did register his 14th hold and first save around two blown saves his last four outings. As for Minter, he’s surged of late with a 1.46 ERA his last 12.1 innings spanning 13 games. He’s also recorded 14 of his last 37 outs via the strikeout. Each will return to a setup role once Vizcaino’s activated so the save chasers may only get one more game to deploy these two in the shared closer role tonight in St. Louis.

Rumors continue to follow Blake Treinen due to his strong performance as the closer for Oakland this year. It does not make much fiscal sense for the A’s to listen to offers on him due to his remaining team control at below market value. Treinen converted his 18th straight save on Friday giving up a hit and a walk with a strikeout. Over his last 24 games, Treinen’s held hitters to a .102 batting average against with a 0.67 ERA. He leads all American League relievers with a 0.89 ERA and his last blown save was on April 18th. In June, Treinen has a matching 0.68 ERA and WHIP with 16 strikeouts in 13.1 innings as the anchor in Oakland’s bullpen.

Quick Hits: Another one-out appearance for Brandon Morrow, but this time, it’s his 17th save. He only needed to throw one pitch to record the save. Collin McHugh worked two innings allowing only a walk with three strikeouts to lower his ERA to 0.97. His last seven outings have produced no earned runs and 15 strikeouts. Kyle Barraclough had his hitless streak end at 12 innings but he extended his current scoreless innings streak to 19.2 over his last 20 games while striking out two in a non-save outing. Brad Ziegler continued his bounce back in June registering 12 scoreless outings of his 13 with a 0.61 ERA and 12 strikeouts this month. Both Josh Hader and Jeremy Jeffress recorded holds in scoreless outings but Milwaukee grew the lead in the ninth and did not provide a save chance to Corey Knebel. Another Hector Neris implosion giving up four earned runs on five hits including three home runs. Tough night for Jordan Hicks who allowed a hit, a walk and hit a batter, all of whom scored putting three earned runs on his ledger in one-third of an inning. HIcks leads the Cardinals in holds (11) and games (38), so he may be fatiguing. Yoshihisa Hirano moved his major league leading scoreless streak to 25 games and 22 innings striking out one in two-thirds of an inning on Friday. It’s below the radar, but Felipe Vazquez may be rounding into form. He saved his 16th game in San Diego with both outs via the strikeout. In June, Vazquez has pitched 11 innings with a 1.64 ERA, six consecutive saves and whiffed seven of the last 12 batters he’s faced.