Revamped D-backs bullpen ready for biggest test

LOS ANGELES -- Against the ropes in Game 1 of the National League Wild Card Series on Tuesday, D-backs manager Torey Lovullo decided to ask his bullpen to cover a whopping 19 outs.

On the road.

In a raucous postseason atmosphere.

A few months ago, that strategy would’ve been untenable. Now? Well, needless to say, this Arizona bullpen is not that Arizona bullpen.

“Is anybody's bullpen ever [the same] bullpen as six months ago?” general manager Mike Hazen said. “It's crazy. We talk about this stuff all the time. It's the most difficult thing to do in this game, in my opinion, is putting a bullpen together, keeping that bullpen healthy. … This bullpen has become a strength of our team for sure. We saw that in the Milwaukee series. But we really saw that from the Trade Deadline on.”

In the team's two-game sweep of Milwaukee, Arizona relievers combined to record 9 1/3 scoreless innings. There was no bulk pitcher to cover that workload. It took seven relief arms across two games to carry the D-backs into their NL Division Series showdown against the Dodgers.

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“There's probably tier one, tier two and tier three of guys I can go to that are going to collect big outs,” said Lovullo. “It gives me a lot of versatility. … It's part of what makes your team good, when you have a lot of options that aren't just throw-away options. They're legitimate options that will help you win a game.”

In that sense, the D-backs’ bullpen has undergone a serious transformation from the unit that entered September ranked 25th in the Majors with a 4.69 ERA. Since then, Arizona’s 2.31 relief ERA ranks third.

The pieces began falling into place when Paul Sewald, acquired at the Trade Deadline from Seattle, took over the closer role.

“When we acquired Paul, we had talked about not having a closer for a couple years now,” Hazen said. “That was my fault. We tried to piece it together in various ways. When we did acquire that closer, when we got him, I think what it did by pushing everybody a little bit forward was settling everybody into roles and allowing for stability.”

Indeed, Sewald stabilized the back end. He’s gotten hot at the right time, too, allowing just two hits while striking out eight across five straight scoreless outings of an inning apiece.

Still, it wasn’t as simple as putting Sewald at the back end and letting the rest of the dominoes fall. The D-backs signed Ryan Thompson to a Minor League deal on Aug. 19 after he was released by the Rays. He’s since allowed one run in 15 2/3 innings.

Shortly thereafter, the team promoted prospect Andrew Saalfrank. The 26-year-old left-hander still hasn’t allowed an earned run. He made his postseason debut in Game 2 on Wednesday by escaping a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the eighth with a pair of weak ground balls.

“Not probably how you want to draw it up for a young kid,” Hazen said. “But Torey fired him in there, and he's been nails since we brought him up.”

Add the steady Kevin Ginkel to that group, and the rest of the pieces just fit. Former All-Star Joe Mantiply joins Saalfrank as lefty matchup weapons. Miguel Castro has been excellent down the stretch.

“Everybody’s capable of leverage,” Saalfrank said. “I think that’s a pretty unique situation to have. There’s like six, seven, eight guys that can throw in the eighth inning. … And the farther you go in the playoffs, the more leverage it is. Paul said it best: Every inning is the ninth inning.”

Of course, this revamped D-backs bullpen is about to get tested like it hasn’t been tested all year. They were up for the moment in Milwaukee. But this Dodgers lineup is a nightmare for teams looking for matchups.

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At the top, good luck matching up with Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith and Max Muncy -- two lefties, two righties, all perennially in the All-Star discussion. At the bottom, Los Angeles expertly uses its deep bench to maneuver its way around matchups. Bring in a lefty? The team will counter with a righty. And vice versa.

It’s certainly no easy task. But let’s just say this bullpen is better equipped for it than the one the D-backs trotted out two months ago.

“You hear a lot that hitting is contagious,” Saalfrank said. “I think pitching is contagious, too. When you know the guy in front of you is doing their job, it’s a little easier almost to go out there and try and do yours.”