Brennan Bernardino nabs first save of season

Colorado will have veteran reliever Brennan Bernardino face the left-handed heavy top of Atlanta’s lineup before turning things over to Dollander for a bulk outing. The 24-year-old former top pitching prospect has missed a ton of bats this season and has emerged as a viable mixed-league option, even when he takes the ball in Coors Field’s high-octane offensive environment.

It’ll be southpaw reliever Brennan Bernardino opening the contest to face Philadelphia’s lefty-heavy top of the order before giving the ball to Dollander. The 24-year-old former top pitching prospect has big-time stuff but he’s been extremely wild from a results standpoint while operating out of Colorado’s bullpen this season, surrendering runs on five hits, including three homers, with a 5/2 K/BB ratio across four innings of work. There’s huge long-term upside here if Dollander is able to put it together, but he’s a work in progress at the moment and can be safely ignored in most fantasy leagues.

Bernardino qualified as a Super Two player after posting a 3.14 ERA in 51 2/3 innings for the Red Sox last season, so he’ll earn about $150,000 more than he would have made with three fewer weeks of service time. He’s likely to contend for a setup role after being picked up by the Rockies in a November trade.

Bernardino was a key component of Boston’s relief mix over the past three seasons, recording a strong 3.46 ERA across 153 1/3 innings of work over 167 appearances. The 33-year-old southpaw becomes one of the stronger high-leverage options in Colorado’s bullpen heading into next season, assuming he checks out fine after finishing last year on the shelf with a lat strain.

Bernardino was placed on the injured list on September 12th, but there was some hope that he would make it back in time for the playoffs. Unfortunately, that doesn’t appear to be the case. Steven Matz and Justin Wilson were serve as the two main left-hander relievers, apart from closer Aroldis Chapman.

Bernardino will be eligible to return to the Boston bullpen just before the end of the regular season, but there’s obviously no guarantee that will take place. Chris Murphy was recalled from Triple-A Worcester to take his spot on the pitching staff.

Well then. Speier reports that Brennan Bernardino is expected to open with Dustin May working in bulk. The expectation was Harrison would make his debut with Boston on Wednesday, but for whatever reason(s), it appears he’ll have to wait at least another couple of days. Weird.

The Red Sox will use Brennan Bernardino as the opener to face left-handed hitters Jackson Holliday and Gunnar Henderson, and possibly even a second inning against Colton Cowser and Samuel Basallo before bringing Fitts into the game. Fitts has been solid for the Red Sox as a rookie, but has allowed five runs on seven hits in four innings his third time through the order, so being in a bulk relief role might be best for him. He’s on the streaming radar in deeper formats for this one.

Bernardino returns to Boston’s relief corps after spending a couple weeks back in the minors. The 33-year-old southpaw holds a strong 3.09 ERA across 43 2/3 innings (47 appearances, one start) this season at the big-league level.

Morán has been shipped back to the minors after allowing two runs over two innings on Monday against the Orioles, leaving him with a subpar 6.75 ERA across four innings of work (two appearances). It’ll be fellow lefty Brennan Bernardino returning to the big leagues to take his spot in Boston’s bullpen.