Archive for Mychal Givens

In Sunday’s edition of the Bullpen Report, Ben Pasinkoff covered some of the key happenings from Sunday afternoon’s games, and the most notable of those was Justin Wilson getting the save in the Mets’ 6-3 win over the Reds. This is a hard move to interpret, as not only was Seth Lugo available, but he set up for Wilson in the eighth inning. It was also not a matter of Mickey Callaway using Lugo in a high-pressure situation in which the Reds’ best hitters were due up. Lugo entered the game with a three-run cushion and Tucker Barnhart, José Iglesias and José Peraza coming up. These were the Reds’ 5-6-7 hitters. Lugo gave up a leadoff home run to Barnhart but nothing else. It was the first home run yielded by Lugo since Juan Soto went yard against him on Aug. 10.

The Mets got the run back in the top of the ninth inning on Brandon Nimmo’s solo shot off Sal Romano. Wilson protected the 6-3 margin, allowing only a walk to Joey Votto. It was the lefty’s fourth save of the season, and given that there is no clear alternative explanation for this pattern of reliever usage, one can only assume that Wilson and Lugo will be splitting whatever save opportunities come the Mets’ way over the final week.
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Héctor Neris has been reliable for much of this season, and especially in the second half. Prior to the Phillies’ current series with the Pirates, Neris had reeled off a string of 13 consecutive appearances — each lasting one full inning — in which he had not allowed a run. That does not fully illustrate how dominant Neris had been, as he allowed only two singles, a double, an unintentional walk and an intentional walk over that span.

In Monday night’s series opener, Neris blew a chance at a save when he gave up a Josh Bell solo homer, which was the first home run he had allowed since July 18. On Tuesday night, Neris entered in the top of the ninth inning with a 4-4 tie, and uncharacteristically, he issued back-to-back walks with one out. He would wind up paying for those free passes when the next batter, Kevin Newman, hit what appeared to be a double play ball to César Hernández. Melky Cabrera was out at second, but Rhys Hoskins dropped the throw from Jean Segura, which allowed Newman to be safe at first base and Adam Frazier to score the go-ahead run.
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It’s been a rough ride recently for the Cubs in regards to injuries. Craig Kimbrel landed on the 10-day injured list with right knee inflammation backdated to August fourth throwing the high leverage innings in flux. It seemed like Steve Cishek and his seven saves this year could be primed to close in the interim, but his usage on Monday night, nor performance, does not indicate he’s atop the bullpen hierarchy. Cishek entered with a four run lead in the top of the eighth inning serving up a lead-off double to Jurickson Profar before recording a strikeout of Chris Herrmann. Pinch-hitter Nick Martini hit a two-run home run off Cishek followed by a solo-home run by Marcus Semien. Cishek issued a walk to Robbie Grossman before being lifted. Read the rest of this entry »

Excitement from signing Craig Kimbrel could be shifting to concern for Cubs fans. Kimbrel suffered his second blown save allowing two home runs resulting in three earned runs without recording an out in Milwaukee. Christian Yelich hit a solo shot leading off the inning, then a walk to Tyler Saladino preceded a two-run walk-off home run by Keston Hiura in the bottom of the 10th inning. This outing snapped Kimbrel’s consecutive save streak at six, but concern lies within four home runs yielded in 10.2 innings this season along with eight walks resulting in a 6.75 ERA and 1.69 WHIP. There’s time for Kimbrel to round into form, but with three teams within one game in the division, it’s a fine line to walk, no pun intended.

Freddy Peralta coughed up a solo home run to Albert Almora in the top of the 10th giving the Cubs a one run lead. But, he garners the win as a result of the rally in the bottom of the inning. Peralta seems to be cementing his role as second in line for high leverage with Milwaukee. He’s recorded two wins and a save in his last three appearances giving up the one earned run over four innings with six strikeouts versus one walk. Limiting free passes will ultimately determine Peralta’s success as a reliever over the last two months.

Ceding a four run lead in the ninth inning, Tampa Bay’s relievers once again struggled. Oliver Drake did not register an out giving up a double to Lourdes Gurriel Jr. then walked Eric Sogard leading to a three-run home run by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Adam Kolarek replaced Drake retiring Cavan Biggio then the Rays replaced him with Colin Poche for the save chance. Poche struck out Danny Jansen before serving up a home run to Brandon Drury tying the game. Of interest, passing over Emilio Pagan with two right-handed batters due up for Poche. Pagan took over in the bottom of the 11th inning walking two but escaping the inning unscored upon. However, in the 12th, he yielded the walk-off winning home run to Teoscar Hernandez leading off the inning.

Daniel Hudson nets his sixth win as a result working a clean top of the 12th striking out one. Ken Giles tossed a clean 10th inning after David Phelps logged a clean ninth with a strikeout. Tim Mayza filled in the gap working a scoreless 11th inning striking out two. For this game, the Blue Jays bullpen not only outlasted the Rays, it outperformed them.

After a five day respite, Raisel Iglesias fired a clean ninth with two strikeouts en route to his 18th save. This outing snapped a three game streak allowing at least a run by Iglesias. He’s been in trade rumors and could thrive with a change in scenery. So far in July, Iglesias owns an enticing 12:2 K:BB rate with a 0.96 WHIP and 4.83 ERA. Hope lies within his 3.09 xFIP this month. Michael Lorenzen recorded his ninth hold working 1.2 scoreless innings giving up a hit and a walk with a strikeout. Wandy Peralta gets his second hold with 1.1 clean innings.

A bumpy ride, but Mychal Givens held on for his ninth save yielding a run over 1.1 innings allowing a hit and two walks with two strikeouts. He’s given up runs in consecutive outings but notched a save in three of his last five appearances. Richard Bleier garnered his second win with a clean inning striking out one. Ty Buttrey suffered his fifth loss allowing two hits and two earned runs in one-third of an inning.

Some trade news with Jake Diekman heading to the A’s bullpen. He may not report until Tuesday but will bolster its depth giving them another left-handed reliever for high leverage. Miami dealt Sergio Romo to the Twins. Romo could serve the role vacated by Blake Parker as the right handed complement to Taylor Rogers. This shifts Nick Anderson atop the Marlins hierarchy, however, his time there could be fleeting:

The assumption is Nick Anderson will close, but there is a chance Anderson may be dealt by the #TradeDeadline #Marlins

— Joe Frisaro (@JoeFrisaro) July 28, 2019

Owners looking for the next save for Miami will add Anderson if he’s available and hope he does not get moved. Stay tuned.

Quick Hits: Matt Barnes notched his 18th hold striking out four in 1.1 innings giving up a hit. Nathan Eovaldi struggled again allowing three hits and two earned runs with two strikeouts in an inning. Brandon Workman pitched a clean ninth with a four run lead striking out two…Chad Green yielded five hits leading to four earned runs in 2.1 innings with two strikeouts…A non-save outing for Alex Colome resulted in a clean ninth with a strikeout. Aaron Bummer pitched two-thirds of an inning walking one. Evan Marshall logged 1.1 scoreless innings allowing a hit with two strikeouts…Save number nine for Liam Hendriks striking out two and giving up a hit. In July, Hendriks has pitched 10.2 innings with a robust 16:1 K:BB and 1.69 ERA…Jose LeClerc retired the only hitter he faced via strikeout. He’s fired 5.2 clean innings over his last seven appearances with nine strikeouts.

**Post-publish update: Seattle made the following roster move which will be updated on Monday in our closer hierarchy:

The #Mariners have announced the following roster moves: Reinstate RHP Hunter Strickland from 60-day IL; Option RHP Matt Carasiti to AAA Tacoma (postgame 7/27); Transfer RHP Félix Hernández from 10-day IL to 60-day IL.

— Mariners PR (@MarinersPR) July 28, 2019

It has now been 10 days since Wade Davis ended his stay on the IL with an oblique injury, and he has appeared five times for the Rockies since then. Enough time has passed that it’s fair to say that the warning signs that were present for Davis before going on the IL have not gotten any weaker.

In Davis’ three outings before getting shelved, he had given up three runs on five hits and a pair of walks over three innings, and the average velocity on his fastball was 93.3 mph, as compared to 94.1 mph prior to that stretch. Since returning from his injury, Davis has allowed seven runs on nine hits and three walks over 4.1 innings, and his average fastball velocity has dipped a little further to 92.9 mph.
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Blake Treinen captured his 15th save of the season on Tuesday night against the Rays, but he was fortunate to have had a two-run cushion entering the bottom of the ninth inning. In starting off with a four-pitch walk to Brandon Lowe, Treinen followed in his recent trend of not throwing enough strikes. Over his six innings pitched in the month of June, he has issued seven walks while locating in the strike zone at an anemic 31.9 percent rate and throwing first-pitch strikes just 41.4 percent of the time.

The walk came back to hurt Treinen, as Lowe scored on a two-out Willy Adames single to cut the Athletics’ lead to one run. However, he stranded Adames by getting Kevin Kiermaier to ground out for the final out.
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The Cubs activated Pedro Strop on Tuesday, and we quickly found out there would be no easing-in period for him. Kyle Hendricks gave the Cubs seven strong innings against the Rockies, and when he left with a 5-3 lead, erstwhile closer Steve Cishek came in to pitch the eighth inning. Newcomer Carlos Gonzalez hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning that extended the lead to three runs, and then Joe Maddon called on Strop for the save in the ninth.

Though only one of his 17 pitches resulted in a swinging strike, Strop’s return was drama-free, as he induced three ground ball outs. His average fastball velocity of 93.8 mph was only slightly below his prior average of 94.3 mph. Strop is starting to find some new owners now that he has been activated, but he is still widely available in 12-team mixed leagues. He is clearly an upgrade over Blake Parker, both in terms of likely usage and skill set, yet Parker is more widely owned in both CBS and ESPN leagues.
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It would not be a Saturday edition of the Bullpen Report without a litany of questions which pervade the saves landscape. Starting in Chicago, the Cubs failed to convert a save chance leading to a loss. Steve Cishek entered this outing riding a 13.1 inning scoreless streak and failed to record an out. He walked Joey Votto prior to serving up the go ahead two run home run to Eugenio Suarez. Cishek then hit Jesse Winker with a pitch before being replaced by James Norwood. This marks Cishek’s second loss and second blown save of the season. During his scoreless streak, Cishek limited hitters to a .133 batting average against (six-for-45) but did not fare well on Friday, which coincides with the possible return of Pedro Strop on Sunday. Brad Brach also incurred his second blown save giving up four hits, an earned runand a walk with three strikeouts in 1.2 innings. Read the rest of this entry »

Pedro Strop is close to returning for the Cubs, but will he also return to the ninth inning? Because nothing is ever easy in fantasy baseball, the answer is not clear.

Joe Maddon has stated previously that he does not have to go with a single closer, yet he has leaned heavily on Steve Cishek in Strop’s absence. Still, that should raise some doubt about whether Strop will have save opportunities all to himself when he comes back from his IL stint for a strained left hamstring. His return could happen in a matter of days, as he is scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Saturday and then may rejoin the team without having to go on a rehab assignment.
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Just when it seemed safe to trust Mychal Givens, the implosion occurs. Givens entered last night’s appearance riding a six game scoreless streak with 11 strikeouts against four walks over nine innings with four saves. After giving up a home run to Gleyber Torres, who obliterates Orioles pitching, Givens returned for the ninth hoping to record a 1.1 inning save. Back to back singles by Brett Gardner and Cameron started the top of the ninth with immediate traffic, less than optimal. Givens induced a fielder’s choice ground out by D.J. LeMahieu, but the runners advanced leading to a sacrifice fly by Aaron Hicks. So, two outs and two runners on set the stage for a Luke Voit walk then a three-run go ahead home run by Gary Sanchez. Read the rest of this entry »