MLB Bullpen Red Flags
Bullpen Red Flags: KC Have Burned 11 Relief Arms in 3 Days
Published
The quietest stat that decides loud games: bullpen usage. We counted every reliever appearance in the last three days of box scores, and the gap between the most-taxed pen and the freshest one is worth knowing about.
Running on fumes
No pen has worked harder than KC: eleven reliever outings across three games, 3.7 a night. Tired arms give up runs, and they usually give them up in the innings that decide things.
SEA have been nearly as busy: 11 appearances across 3 games.
Keep an eye on ATH too, at 10 relief appearances over 3 games.
Fresh and waiting
The freshest arms belong to SD, only five relief appearances in two games, which is the quiet kind of advantage that shows up in the eighth inning.
PIT (5 appearances in 2 games) have kept their powder nearly as dry.
The spread between the busiest pen and the freshest one is six appearances over the same window, that is the difference between a full late-inning menu and a manager crossing his fingers at the mound.
The board
Every pen in the sample, most-taxed first:
| Team | Relief outings | Games |
|---|---|---|
| KC | 11 | 3 |
| SEA | 11 | 3 |
| ATH | 10 | 3 |
| HOU | 10 | 3 |
| NYY | 9 | 3 |
Worth remembering
The tally counts appearances, not innings: each reliever who entered a captured game adds one to his team's total. Crude on purpose, and applied identically everywhere.
A taxed pen shows up late, not early: fewer trusted arms, longer leashes, fatter late innings. Watch the eighth.
One to circle: Kansas City Royals meet Detroit Tigers in their next game, and we will find out quickly whether this stretch travels.