3. San Diego Padres
When Fernando Rodney and Ryan Buchter don’t pitch for the Padres out of the pen, their ERA as a unit is 5.90. Collectively the group sports a 5.07 ERA which puts them at third worst in the majors. Like the Twins, this bullpen is worn out. They’ve tallied the most innings pitched in baseball with 195. Their 110 earned runs allowed is second in the major leagues and is 28 more than the average bullpen.
Undoubtedly, the most embarrassing moment for this bullpen came in Thursday night’s defeat to the Seattle Mariners. San Diego took a commanding 12-2 lead into the sixth inning. 45 minutes later, the lead was gone.
Ryan Buchter, who has been a bright spot for this pen, was tagged for four runs in 0.2 innings pitched. Next up was Brandon Maurer, who allowed three runs without recording an out. Matt Thornton came in to save some face but allowed two more runs in the inning to make it 16-12. The Padres came into the seventh inning with a 12-7 lead before the bullpen combusted.
“It’s one of those things that’s borderline inexplicable,” Padres manager Andy Green said. “I’ve been around baseball a long time. You don’t see teams come back from 10. That’s just not something that happens very often.”
Next: Texas