Bullpen Report: May 27, 2018

As bullpen usage continues to evolve, chasing saves could become even more difficult. For example, over the last seven games the Phillies have used three different pitchers in save opportunities. A week ago Saturday, Seranthony Dominguez notched the first major league save of his career. On Monday, Hector Neris returned to the ninth inning en route to his ninth save. Yesterday, Dominguez worked 1.1 innings, one out in the seventh and the eighth inning paving the way for Luis Garcia to pitch the ninth. Garcia yielded one hit and struck out one for his first save of the season. Four players on the roster have registered a save this month, including Edubray Ramos. Due to Philadelphia’s depth in the their bullpen, this could persist through the remainder of the season with other teams watching closely.

Losing Andrew Miller to the disabled list (knee inflammation) will continue to test the already fragile psyche of Cleveland’s bullpen. For one day at least, they rebounded to close out the Astros. Zach McAllister did give up a run during his 1.1 innings of work but held on for his third hold. Tyler Olson and Dan Otero shared the eighth inning with Olson getting one out and Otero pitched two-thirds of an inning. Cody Allen, the saving grace so far, notched his eighth save in a clean ninth inning with a strikeout. Allen’s made 18 scoreless appearances out of 22 this year and over his last seven games has worked 6.2 innings with a 2.69 ERA, 0.60 WHIP and seven strikeouts. He will be tested with a shaky bridge leading up to him going forward.

Cincinnati’s Jared Hughes escaped a potential disaster closing out his third save, second this week, after loading the bases in Colorado with no outs. A ground ball to first for a force out at home and a line drive double play to Scooter Gennett preserved the win. It also extended Hughes’ personal scoreless inning streak to 13.1 in his last 10 outings during which he’s allowed eight hits, two walks and struck out eight. In spite of suggesting a committee approach, Amir Garrett worked in the seventh inning inducing a double play hit by Charlie Blackmon then striking out David Dahl for his eighth hold. Garrett will need Blackmon or two or more left-handed hitters in the ninth to procure a save chance, but it’s possible.

Postulating on the Indians having interest in what pitchers could be available in the Marlins bullpen makes sense. A team in a deep rebuild can add necessary pieces by trading high leverage commodities. As for Miami, Kyle Barraclough recorded two outs while allowing a walk to keep the game tied against the Nationals on Saturday. However, Brad Ziegler once again struggled in a non-save appearance although the stakes were high in a tied game. Ziegler served up four hits and a walk resulting in three earned runs with one strikeout as part of his two-thirds of an inning during his fourth loss. He’s nine-for-nine in save chances with a 1.04 ERA and 0.81 WHIP in them but owns a 11.57 ERA in non-save situations and a bloated 2.07 WHIP. There’s no report of pending changes in the late innings, but Ziegler remains on tenuous ground. This meltdown led to Sean Doolittle’s 11th save in a clean appearance with a strikeout. He’s worked in back-to-back games, so Brandon Kintzler could be in line for the save on Sunday.

St. Louis placed Greg Holland on the disabled list and put his replacement on the roster, Tyler Lyons, right into the fire. Lyons notched his team leading eighth hold giving up a hit with a strikeout in one-third of an inning. Jordan Hicks then pitched 1.2 innings allowing a hit for his fourth hold. Bud Norris rebounded from his loss on Wednesday to record his first save since May 16th with a clean ninth and a strikeout. This marks 10 saves for Norris who remains perfect in save conversions this season.

No clarity emerged in Tampa Bay but Chaz Roe did work a clean ninth inning with a four run lead. Roe’s struggled of late with an ERA of six over his last seven games (nine innings). However, he’s clearly in the mix for future saves with Jose Alvarado and potentially Sergio Romo once the rotation settles in. As for the White Sox, Nate Jones recorded an out in the eighth inning with the team leading by five runs. Joakim Soria worked the ninth allowing an unearned run on a hit. He’s yielded a run in five of his last eight outings with a 7.39 ERA and drifting from high leverage it seems.

Quick Hits: Another strong outing by Joe Kelly who pitched a clean eighth for his ninth hold. Kelly’s only allowed one earned run since April first (0.37 ERA) with 26 strikeouts. Craig Kimbrel notched his 16th save in spite of a home run by Ronald Acuna. Kimbrel’s worked in back-to-back games and given up five solo home runs accounting for all of his runs given up this year except one. Alex Claudio won his third game in relief with a clean outing. He’s cut his ERA from 8.10 to 4.15 over his last 13 game (16 innings). Another rough outing for A.J. Ramos who allowed three earned run over two-thirds of an inning. Ramos has given up 10 runs his last 7.2 innings. Save number 10 for Hunter Strickland. He’s only worked three times in the last nine days but has converted eight saves in a row. Craig Stammen won his second game working 1.2 clean innings with a strikeout. Brad Hand shut the door for his 16th save giving up a walk with a strikeout. Hand’s made 18 scoreless outings of his last 20. Non-save outing by Edwin Diaz allowing a hit in a scoreless ninth. He’s pitched in back-to-back games and in four of the last five so it could be Alex Colome making his Mariners debut if a save chance arises on Sunday.