Bullpen Report: September 20, 2019

The Cubs activated Craig Kimbrel on Thursday after he spent two weeks on the IL with right elbow inflammation. With the Cubs never holding a lead in Thursday night’s game against the Cardinals and trailing 4-1 heading into the ninth inning, it did not appear they would need Kimbrel to pitch, at least as a closer. Pedro Strop took the mound for the top of the ninth, so it looked like Kimbrel would have to wait at least another day to make his return.

Carlos Martínez came in for the bottom of the ninth, and with him riding a streak of 11 straight scoreless appearances and having a three-run buffer, the Cubs’ chances of winning or at least forcing extra innings looked slim. Over those 11 outings, Martínez had struck out 14 batters and allowed only two hits over 10.2 innings.

However, Martínez got into trouble quickly. He began by walking Nicholas Castellanos, and then Kris Bryant put him into scoring position on a first-pitch single. With one out, Ben Zobrist brought Castellanos home with a double, and now the Cubs had the tying run on second base. After giving up his third hit — a Willson Contreras RBI single that narrowed the Cardinals’ lead to one run — Martínez departed, leaving it up to Andrew Miller to close out the game. The lefty did get Jason Heyward to ground out, but pinch-runner Javier Báez scored the tying run. Miller retired Nico Hoerner to send the game into extra innings.

Kimbrel got the call for the top of the 10th inning, charged with keeping the game in a 4-4 tie. He got off to a promising start, striking out Dexter Fowler, but his first pitch to Matt Carpenter wound up in the seats beyond the wall in left center field. Though Kimbrel would get Paul Goldschmidt and Marcell Ozuna out to complete the inning, Giovanny Gallegos would retire the Cubs in order in the bottom of the 10th, making the 5-4 lead stick for his first save of the season.

Carpenter’s homer was a no-doubter, leaving the playing field with 105.3 mph in exit velocity and carrying a 92 percent hit probability (per Baseball Savant), but that one pitch aside, there were no warning signs in Kimbrel’s outing. He averaged 95.9 mph in fastball velocity and induced three swinging strikes on 13 pitches.

As for Martínez, we can just chalk this up to being a random bad outing, and one that was not entirely of his own making. He did not allow a single batted ball with an exit velocity over 95 mph and got five swinging strikes in 20 pitches.

The same cannot be said for Keone Kela, who pitched the top of the ninth inning for the Pirates in a 5-5 tie with the Mariners. He did not allow a run, but he had to overcome allowing three consecutive one-out singles, all of which were hit with an exit velocity greater than 95 mph. To his credit, Kela did get three swinging strikes and four called strikes in 22 pitches. Despite this somewhat shaky outing, Kela figures to inherit the Pirates’ remaining save opportunities, with Felipe Vázquez’s placement on the restricted list subsequent to his arrest on multiple felony charges.

The Mariners broke the tie in the top of the 11th inning, scoring a run off Clay Holmes. Erik Swanson struck out the side in the bottom of the 11th (but also issued a walk to Erik González), earning his first career save. Over his last 13.1 innings, Swanson has allowed three runs on seven hits and four walks with 17 strikeouts. This period coincides with his introduction of a splitter into his arsenal. Swanson has also allowed two home runs over this stretch, and his 2.83 HR/9 is the third-highest of any pitcher with at least 50 innings.

Over the last 30 days, the Brewers’ bullpen has compiled a 3.06 ERA, a mark that has only been bested by the Cubs. On Thursday night, Josh Hader recorded his 34th save, entering with a 5-1 lead over the Padres in the top of the ninth inning, but with runners on the corners and no one out. Hader needed seven pitches to strike Manuel Margot out, but only one pitch to induce a game-ending double-play ball from Luis Torrens. Freddy Peralta and Drew Pomeranz, who have been completely dominant down the stretch, were a big part of the Brewers’ victory as well. Peralta rescued Jordan Lyles, whose control suddenly abandoned him in the fifth inning, stranding a pair of baserunners, and then he pitched a perfect sixth inning. Pomeranz followed Peralta in the seventh inning, and he struck out two batters while only allowing a Greg Garcia single.

Quick hits: Taylor Rogers (28), Brandon Workman (15) and Mark Melancon (12) each recorded a save on Thursday…Brad Hand was scheduled to throw off flat ground on Thursday after having thrown a bullpen session on Wednesday. There is still no timetable for his return to the Indians’ bullpen.