There are so many variables when it comes to betting on baseball. If you are a casual or even sharp bettor, how many times have you bet on the starting pitcher who went six of seven innings, allowing less than three runs and you’re leading 4-2 going into the eighth? What happens? You lose 5-4, because the setup man and/or closer blows the game. One way of avoiding bullpens blowing the game in later innings is to pick the first 5 innings line. You do have to be careful with big lines because the Dodgers could be a -250 favorite on the full game and first 5 games.
The key to analyzing each game is to not only know the performances of the starters and the team’s performance, but also the bullpens. Some say that the best strategy is to fade a team with bullpen ratings, going against a team that is on a winning streak of three or more games (assuming you get good value).
Let’s take a look at the top bullpens in 2026 thus far as of May 5, 2026:
BPE (Bullpen era) (stats from insidethepen.com)
Top 10
1)Texas: 2.93 BPE, 107.2 IP, Closer by committee: Jakob Junis & Chris Martin
2)San Francisco: 2.96 BPE, 118.2 IP, Closer by committee: Blade Tidwell & Erik Miller
3)Seattle: 3.12 BPE, 115.1 IP, Closer: Andres Munoz (5.79 ERA)
4)Atlanta Braves: 3.31 BPE, 98 IP. Closer. Raisel Iglesias (0.00 ERA)
5)NY Yankees: 3.44 BPE, 115 IP. Closer: David Bednar (3.29 ERA)
6)Boston: 3.54 BPE, 132.1 IP. Closer: Aroldis Chapman (0.77 ERA)
7)LA Dodgers: 3.55 BPE, 99 IP. Closer: Edwin Diaz on IL. Closer by committee: Tanner Scott, Alex Vesia, Blake Treinen.
8)Milwaukee: 3.60 BPE, 132.1 IP. Closer: Trevor MeGill (6.00 ERA)
9)Miami: 3.77 BPE, 117 IP. Closer: TBD Pete Fairbanks was placed on the IL.
10)Pittsburgh: 3.80 BPE, 139.2 IP. Closer: Dennis Santana (3.07 ERA)
Bottom 10
30)Houston: 5.60 BPE, 143 IP. Closer: Bryan Abreua (9.49 ERA), Josh Hader is on the 60-day IL.
29)LA Angels: 5.36 BPE, 151 IP. Closer: Jordan Romano (10.13 ERA), regular closer Kirby Yates is on the IL.
28)Kansas City: 5.23 BPE, 117 IP. Closer: Lucas Erceg (3.77 ERA).
27)Athletics: 5.17 BPE, 135.2 IP. Closer: Joel Kuhnel & Mark Leiter Jr.
26)Chicago White Sox: 5.10 BPE, 134 IP. Closer: Seranthony Dominguez (3.95 ERA).
25)Minnesota: 5.09 BPE, 120.1 IP. Closer: Justin Topa & Cole Sands.
24)St. Louis: 4.92 BPE, 133.2 IP. Closer: Riley O’Brien (2.12 ERA).
23)Baltimore: 4.79 BPE, 129.2 IP. Closer: TBD. Closer by committee.
22)Arizona: 4.78 BPE, 139.1 IP. Closer: Paul Sewald (3.86 ERA).
21)Washington: 4.55 BP, 150.1 IP. Closer: Gus Varland & Clayton Beeter.
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