Padres Honored as Bullpen of the Week by MLB
The Padres have been recognized for having an excellent bullpen in the Major League Baseball world.
After a week in which the bullpen posted a 1.55 ERA with 35 strikeouts to just nine walks in 29 innings, Major League Baseball declared the Padres as the Bullpen of the Week for their efforts this past week.
Might I add that the MLB Twitter account selected two quality pictures with quality uniforms?
This honor is well deserved. Before we even get to the back of the bullpen, guys like Robbie Erlin (four scoreless innings), Phil Maton (3 1/3 scoreless), and Craig Stammen (four scoreless) all set the table for the Padres going 5-2 this past week.
Kazuhisa Makita, Colten Brewer, and Kyle McGrath also turned in scoreless weeks out of the ‘pen. Adam Cimber posted a 1.69 ERA and got his first big league win.
Then there’s Brad Hand.
Hand pitched four scoreless innings with seven strikeouts to earn four saves while only allowing one base runner. On Sunday, Hand recorded a four-out save in which he struck out all four batters he faced. Even with his rough start, he is now at 14 K/9, a 2.00 ERA and an astronomical 191 ERA+. His six saves are second-best in baseball. He was the Padres’ lone All-Star in 2017 and he is certainly trending towards a second consecutive selection early this season.
35 Ks in 29 innings. @Padres relievers were throwing filth en route to Bullpen of the Week honors: https://t.co/KxbwEFVTlW #PrevailingMoments pic.twitter.com/rfgR7d8jXX
— MLB (@MLB) April 16, 2018
As a team, the Padres have a 1.84 bullpen ERA, which is the second-best in all the league, and they are third in strikeouts. In other words, the Padres have one of the best bullpens in baseball out of the gate in 2018, and last week it was the best.
Native of Escondido, CA. Lived in San Diego area for 20 years. Padres fan since childhood (mid-90s). I have been writing since 2014. I currently live near Seattle, WA and am married to a Seattle sports girl. I wore #19 on my high school baseball team for Tony Gwynn. I am a stats and sports history nerd. I attended BYU on the Idaho campus. I also love Star Wars.