KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A spot start? A save opportunity?
A third of an inning? How about five?
It’s all the same for White Sox relievers Tyler Alexander and Mike Vasil, who have taken on Swiss Army-knife roles for a surprisingly stout bullpen that has emerged as one of the best in the majors since the All-Star break.
Alexander, a journeyman left-hander, and Vasil, a rookie right-hander, are serving important bulk relief roles to help back up a young rotation that’s grinding to the end of the season.
But they’ve also gotten their first career saves and taken the ball in other high-leverage situations, and they’re never quite sure what’s next.
“I like the chaos of what I’m doing now,” Alexander said before the Sox’ 3-1 series-opening loss Friday night against the Royals. “It’s fun; it keeps it entertaining. And I think I’m good at it, too.”
Chaos sounds about right for a guy who took a 90-minute Uber ride to Chicago from Milwaukee when the Sox picked him up in early June off the heap from the Brewers, who had designated Alexander for assignment. He arrived in the middle of the game and pitched three strong innings.
A 4-10 record with a 4.27 ERA might not scream “go-to guy,” but Alexander has been one of manager Will Venable’s most reliable arms over 38 games and 78 innings. He has turned it up late in the summer, limiting batters to a .177 average since the break.
“I’ve always thrown harder in the second half,” said Alexander, who was born in Chicago but mostly grew up in the Dallas area. He still has family in Oak Park.
An 80 mph sweeper has helped keep batters off-balance against Alexander’s 90 mph fastball.
“You just prepare your body every day to throw,” he said.
Vasil, a 6-5 Boston native, brings a little more velocity with 94 mph four-seamers and sinkers, giving the Sox more than they could’ve expected for the Rule 5 Draft pick whom they claimed off waivers late in spring training.
He also has shown a fire on the mound that has raised the energy in the clubhouse. Vasil (5-3, 2.53 ERA) keeps a Batman mask in his locker in case there was any doubt of his superhero aspirations.
“I would like to think most of the times I take the mound, it’s a Batman situation,” Vasil said. “It’s not like we’re just drawing any innings. We’re going out in tough situations, high leverage, whatever it is, and giving length. Anytime that happens, it’s awesome.”
While Alexander and Vasil are relishing ever-evolving roles, Venable is grateful to know what he’s getting when he calls for -either one of them.
“I’m not sure that you could look at two guys and their roles that have helped us more than they have,” Venable said. “To be flexible enough coming out of the bullpen in short stints, then in longer stints, and to do it with the type of quality that they’ve been doing it, it’s made all the difference for us to be able to navigate different parts of the year.”
That’s especially important in the last two months of the season with starters Shane Smith, Davis Martin and Sean Burke approaching or eclipsing career highs in innings.
The whole bullpen has helped carry the lowly Sox to an improved 12-13 record since the break with an overall 2.84 ERA, third-best in the majors in that span entering Friday. The relievers were holding opponents to a .204 average with 111 strikeouts, second-most in the majors.
“We’re just kind of in a nice groove,” Alexander said. “One guy building off the other — one guy throws well, the next guy wants to throw well. We’re just pitching how we always pitch, and it’s going our way.”