Bullpen Report: May 22, 2019

The ground ball has been Luke Jackson’s best friend this season, and on Tuesday night it was his worst enemy. Jackson is one of only two qualified relievers to have a ground ball rate above 70 percent (Zack Britton is the other), and that had helped him to compile a 2.31 ERA with six saves heading into the Braves’ series in San Francisco. He was called on to protect a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the ninth inning on Tuesday night, and he began predictably enough by getting Evan Longoria to hit into a groundout. Then Brandon Crawford stung a line drive for a single, but Jackson struck out Steven Duggar to get on the cusp of his seventh save.

That’s when the parade of ground ball singles began. Kevin Pillar and Pablo Sandoval both got base hits on grounders that had xBAs of .250 and .090, respectively. Pillar’s single scored Crawford, and then both Pillar and pinch-runner Mac Williamson scored on a Joe Panik grounder that just eluded the outstretched glove of Ozzie Albies, giving the Giants a walk-off win.

It was second straight appearance in which Jackson blew a save, making him potentially vulnerable to having to share the closer’s role with Sean Newcomb, who got the save for the Braves on Monday night. I am not marking this down as a closer committee in our closer grid just yet, but it’s getting close.

On Monday, Chris Woodward told Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that Jose Leclerc had a chance to return as the Rangers’ closer on Tuesday night, at least on a temporary basis. However, when Lance Lynn exited after seven innings with a 3-2 lead against the Mariners, Woodward called on Leclerc to pitch the eighth inning. Though he had a 1-2-3 inning that required only seven pitches, he was relieved in the ninth inning by Shawn Kelley. This was a surprising move, given that Kelley had been activated just hours before the game. (He also had just learned that the lumps removed from his vocal cords were benign.)

Joey Gallo’s two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth gave Kelley a three-run lead to work with, and he needed the extra cushion, having allowed a solo shot by Omar Narvaez. However, that was all that Kelley gave up, so he came away with his third save. We should still assume that Leclerc will regain the closer’s role, and possibly very soon. It just may not happen the next time the Rangers find themselves in a save situation.

The Nationals and Mets kept fantasy owners on the edges of the seats, tossing the lead back and forth over the final three innings of their Tuesday night tilt. The intrigue began in the sixth inning when Wander Suero, who had been recently used as the eighth-inning bridge to Sean Doolittle, came in with the game tied, 1-1. He breezed through the inning, retiring the Mets’ 3-4-5 hitters, but ran into trouble in the seventh inning while preserving a two-run lead. Suero allowed a leadoff single to Wilson Ramos and issued a one-out walk to Dominic Smith. Pinch-hitter J.D. Davis made Suero pay by clubbing his fifth homer of the season.

Mickey Callaway took this opportunity to give Jeurys Familia his highest-leverage situation since returning from the IL on May 14, but he promptly lost the Mets’ lead by allowing a Howie Kendrick single and a Trea Turner RBI double. Turner subsequently scored the go-ahead run on a Juan Soto double hit off Daniel Zamora. The Nationals’ lead was also short-lived, as Tanner Rainey gave up a Peter Alonso solo home run in the bottom of the eighth.

Edwin Diaz restored order in the top of the ninth, keeping the game tied. Rainey returned for the bottom of the ninth and issued back-to-back one-out walks. He was relieved by Kyle Barraclough, who gave up Amed Rosario’s walk-off single.

The Nationals’ set-up situation is a puzzle now, especially given that Barraclough wasn’t brought in sooner. Suero still appears to be the primary set-up pitcher, and he may have been brought in early to take care of the toughest part of the Mets’ order in a crucial situation (which he did). It looks as if Barraclough’s grip on any kind of setup role is tenuous.

The Phillies were presumably without Hector Neris and Adam Morgan on Tuesday night, so Juan Nicasio got his second save opportunity of the season (and his second save chance in two nights, having finished off the 10th inning on Monday). He retired only one of the six batters he faced, with his night ending on Javier Baez’s game-winning, bases-loaded single. Pat Neshek, who ranks second on the team with three saves did not appear in the game, though he was reported to have felt some soreness prior to Monday’s series opener.

But that wasn’t all of the bullpen drama in the NL East on Tuesday night. Sergio Romo blew his first save of the season, letting a two-run lead against the Tigers go by allowing a Miguel Cabrera RBI single and a Ronny Rodriguez sacrifice fly. Joe Jimenez gave up the winning run in the top of the 11th inning, and Nick Anderson captured his first career win with two scoreless innings of relief (including five strikeouts). Despite the loss, owners in holds leagues should not worry too much about Jimenez. Over his last 11 innings, he has 20 strikeouts, three walks and a 19.9 percent SwStr%.

Quick hits: Kirby Yates recorded his 19th save of the season on Tuesday night. In striking out all three Diamondbacks he faced, it marked the seventh time this season that Yates had struck out three batters in an inning. It was also the second time he struck out three batters in a perfect inning…Raisel Iglesias (10) and Blake Treinen (9) also notched saves…Pedro Baez was hit on his right knee by a comebacker in Tuesday night’s game against the Rays, and he had to leave the contest. X-rays came back negative…On Tuesday, the Blue Jays placed Ryan Tepera on the IL with a right elbow impingement…In another IL move, the Astros put Collin McHugh on the list with right elbow discomfort. An MRI was performed on Monday, and no structural problems were found…The Dodgers reinstated Julio Urias from the restricted list on Tuesday. He had been placed on leave on May 14 following his arrest for domestic battery…David Hale recorded his first career save on Tuesday night, allowing one run over the final four innings of the Yankees’ 11-4 win over the Orioles.