Bullpen Report: July 16, 2019

Perhaps Al Melchior moonlights reading tarot cards, or he just proved to be prescient highlighting Oliver Drake in yesterday’s Bullpen Report. In a pivotal game for the Rays, they used Diego Castillo to preserve a one run lead starting the sixth inning. Castillo recorded 1.2 scoreless innings giving up a walk and striking out two. Then, Emilio Pagan entered with two outs in the seventh. Pagan coughed up a home run to Giovanny Urshela leading to his fifth blown save. Over his last 15.2 innings, Pagan owns a 3.44 ERA but he’s yielded five home runs within them. He’s been a stabilizing force in the bullpen all season however, the trend of home runs should be taken into account when adding him for saves. Andrew Kittredge took over for Pagan in the eighth allowing a two out single to Aaron Hicks then a two run home run to Edwin Encarnacion giving up the lead.

Then, the game took a decided turn. Aroldis Chapman entered the top of the ninth with a two run cushion and looking for his 26th save of the season. However, he allowed a lead-off single to Kevin Kiermaier then a single to Guillermo Heridia placing two runners on with no outs. Chapman bounced back striking out Willy Adames and Joey Wendle. After a mound visit, Chapman coughed up a three-run home run to Travis d’Arnaud, his third of the game ceding the lead to Tampa Bay. Representing only the second home run yielded by Chapman all year it led to his second loss and fourth blown save of the season.

Tampa sent Andrew Kittredge back to the mound to start the bottom of the ninth to face Brett Gardner who grounded out to second baseman Wendle. Kittredge also induced a ground out by D.J. LeMahieu to third before walking Aaron Judge with two outs. Enter Oliver Drake, designated for assignment five times last year and with one save in his career on June 15, 2017 in St. Louis as a member of the Brewers. Drake struck out Luke Voit securing a win for the Rays and his second career save. Due to the fluidity of the Rays bullpen, there’s no way to predict more saves from Drake, but he will be added to the grid with a potential committee approach going forward. Since the Yankees lineup consists mostly of right handed batters, Colin Poche will fall off the grid for now but should not be forgotten after the Rays leave New York.

Momentum can be a hell of a drug. San Francisco notched their 11th win in their last 14 games with a doubleheader sweep in Colorado. Will Smith locked down his 24th save walking one in a scoreless ninth in the night cap. He’s only blown one save this year and dating back to June 29th of last year, 38-for-42 in save opportunities with the Giants. As of this writing, the Giants sit within three games of the Wild Card with a deep bullpen, tough decisions lie ahead for this franchise with Bruce Bochy in his last season as the manager. Sam Dyson recorded his 15th hold striking out the side in the eighth and Tony Watson gets his 20th hold walking one in a scoreless seventh inning. Stay tuned.

A blowout turned interesting quick last night in Boston. Ryan Brasier gave up four hits, four runs (three earned) in two-thirds of an inning forcing the Red Sox into using their high leverage arms. Matt Barnes gets his 15th hold but allowed a single to Freddy Galvis letting both inherited runners score and the lead dwindling to two runs. Brandon Workman secured his fourth save with a clean ninth preserving the win. Since May 26th, Workman’s only given up two earned runs in 20 appearances spanning 20 innings for a tidy 0.90 ERA. Plus, there’s news of the eventual closer for the Red Sox heading out on rehab assignment within this article by Alex Speier. Nathan Eovaldi heads to Pawtucket on either Wednesday or Thursday to complete his transition to the bullpen.

Brad Hand held on for his 25th save. He allowed a solo home run to Jordy Mercer marking the first run against Hand since his implosion on June 25th. Hands’ recorded back-to-back saves and 25-for-26 in them this season with a robust 60:10 K:BB in 39.1 innings. Nick Wittgren garners his fourth win working 1.1 scoreless innings issuing one walk.

Remember when Raisel Iglesias seemed to be losing his role as closer in Cincinnati? He retired all five hitters he faced on Monday en route to his 17th save with two strikeouts. It’s a small sample, but in 5.2 innings in July, Iglesias owns a 0.35 WHIP with four strikeouts against zero walks. He’s converted 11 straight saves and over the last four years leads the majors with 28 multiple inning saves. Michael Lorenzen gets his seventh hold working 1.1 innings allowing two hits and a walk with two strikeouts. His last save occurred on May 28th against the Cubs.

Quick Hits: Luke Jackson notched his 17th save with a clean ninth striking out two. He’s converted his last seven save chances. Anthony Swarzak recorded his 11th hold with a clean eighth and owns a 0.47 ERA in 19.1 innings since joining the Braves…Ian Kennedy secured his 14th save working around a hit and a walk with a strikeout. Kennedy’s 12 for his last 13 in save chances dating back to May 30th with a 1.76 ERA and 0.92 WHIP his last 15.1 innings…Save number 14 for Hansel Robles giving up a hit with two strikeouts. He matched Blake Parker’s team high total from last year. Robles has not been scored upon in 17 of his last 18 appearances…Tough night for Phillies relievers with Roman Quinn logging 1.2 innings in blowout loss to the Dodgers…Kyle Crick continues to struggle serving up a home run Tyler O’Neill last night. Crick’s given up runs in three straight outings and allowed five home runs his last 13 appearances…Trevor Rosenthal made his debut with the Tigers lighting up the radar gun and struggling a bit with his command. But, he only allowed one hits with two strikeouts. Will be interesting to see if he can gain traction with a fresh start in Detroit.