The last three games were so bad for the Twins that St. Cloud native and 2013 NBA draft pick Nate Wolters asked what the MLB record is for most runs allowed by a bullpen in a three-game series.
We don’t have an answer for Wolters, but we do know that Houston killed the bullpen with 28 runs in nine innings. That’s insane, and it only contributed to the cellar-dwelling numbers the ‘pen has posted this season. Here’s where they rank.
- 5.33 ERA – 30th
- 108 runs allowed – 30th
- 73 walks allowed – 20th
- 145 strikeouts – 29th
- .273 batting average against – 28th
- .349 opponent on-base percentage – 30th
- .808 opponent OPS – 30th
- 31 home runs allowed – 28th
- 7.57 strikeouts per nine innings – 29th
The Reds set the MLB record for most homers allowed by a bullpen last season with 103. The Twins are on pace to come close to that mark.
Part of the problem is that Twins relievers don’t miss bats. According to Aaron Gleeman, they’re last in the majors in fastball velocity and swinging strikes, which makes the season-ending Tommy John surgery for flame-throwing Double-A right-hander Nick Burdi even more glaring.
Twins' worst ERA (min. 20 appearances):
9.50 Ryan Pressly 2017
9.08 Ron Davis 1986
8.66 Matt Belisle 2017Ron "Context for Awfulness" Davis
— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) June 1, 2017
Ryan Pressly, who was sent down to Triple-A Rochester, and Matt Belisle have struggled the most. Nineteen of the last 24 batters to reach base against them have scored. Since May 7, they have a combined 13.14 ERA.
The rest of the bullpen regulars – Craig Breslow, Buddy Boshers, Tyler Duffey, Taylor Rogers, Brandon Kintzler and Justin Haley – have allowed 22 runs since May 7. That’s 4.91 ERA, but hey, it’s almost three times better than Pressly and Belisle.
God must like the Twins because they’ve somehow gone 11-10 despite getting outscored 125-99 since May 7.
Twins calling up someone familiar (Alex Wimmers) and someone new (Randy Rosario) to help with bullpen, per source
— LaVelle E. Neal III (@LaVelleNeal) June 1, 2017
Fun departing fact: Teams have scored 16+ runs in a game 10 times this season. Three of them happened against the Twins.
