The Boston Red Sox are days from the Wild Card Series. Payton Tolle, Sonny Gray, and Ranger Suarez give them three legitimate starters for a best-of-three series. If those three do their jobs, the bullpen only needs to cover a handful of innings each night.
That said, the relief picture has not been spotless heading into October. Erik Miller has allowed runs in four consecutive outings. Justin Slaten is out for the year. Tyron Guerrero has limited reps since returning from the injured list.
Wednesday night at Fenway helped to put some of those concerns to rest.
The Late-Inning Group Delivered
The Red Sox beat the Guardians 1-0. Gray handled six scoreless innings on 77 pitches, then manager Chad Tracy handed the game to the bullpen in the sequence he has drawn up for the postseason.
Guerrero took the seventh. Garrett Whitlock handled the eighth. Aroldis Chapman closed the ninth.
“To be perfectly honest with you, that was kind of planned out regardless of how the game went,” Tracy said.
Chapman’s outing was the headline. He had not pitched in 10 days because of a left lat issue. He came back and struck out all three batters he faced, with his sinker touching 98.6 miles per hour. Chapman said command was his only concern going in, and he felt good about where every pitch landed.
The closer is back. That alone changes the math for October.
The Options Run Deep
Behind that late-inning trio, the Red Sox have more arms than most postseason teams can claim.
Tanner Houck is stretched out for multi-inning relief. Johan Oviedo provides length from the right side. Brayan Bello can move from the rotation into the bullpen. Greg Weissert has found his footing down the stretch.
Then there is Garrett Crochet. He touched 96 in live batting practice this week and said he believes he can get outs.
“What is he able to give you?” Tracy said. “Can he give you two games? Can he give you multiple innings? All those questions have to be answered.”
Even one Crochet appearance in a high-leverage spot would be a significant addition. The options are there. Tracy just has to decide how to use them.
Final Word for the Red Sox
Miller needs to find it. Guerrero needs more reps. Those are fair concerns. They are also manageable ones given the depth this team carries.
Chapman is healthy. Whitlock is steady. Houck, Oviedo, Bello, and Weissert are all options. Crochet is the wildcard who could change a series.
Three starters the Red Sox trust. A bullpen deep enough to handle whatever comes after them. The concerns are real. The answers are too.
Red Sox Get Bullpen Answer They Needed Before Wild Card Series