‘It’s just a relentless mentality’: Braves bullpen still MLB’s best

Kinley has become a vital part of the bullpen, having allowed just one earned run since May 18. It’s typical to see him, or Didier Fuentes, or maybe Dylan Dodd, in the sixth inning, or possibly the fifth if one of the Braves’ starters runs into trouble.

After that? A three-headed monster awaits.

Dylan Lee, a lefty, is no longer a matchup specialist but rather a shutdown reliever who sports a 1.17 ERA and 0.62 WHIP. Righties are hitting just .118 against Lee, lefties just .162.

When Lee’s job is done, Robert Suárez enters the game for the eighth inning. The hard-throwing righty, who often hits 100 mph on the radar, would be a closer on any other team — as he was with the Padres the past two seasons — yet is Atlanta’s setup man.

Coming off back-to-back All-Star seasons, Suárez has allowed two earned runs in 28 2/3 innings and has four saves and 25 strikeouts. Opponents are hitting a measly .186 against the Venezuelan.

Then comes Raisel Iglesias. The 36-year-old Cuban has 266 career saves, 13 of which have come in 13 chances this season. Iglesias didn’t allow a run until May 26 when he gave up two — and those are the only scores he has allowed in 20 2/3 innings.

“There’s a lot of confidence when we’re able to go to (Lee), to Suárez, to ‘Iggy.’ What Kinley’s done for us, it being the sixth or seventh inning, what ‘Dee Dee’ Fuentes has done for us, it’s really nice,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said Friday. “Now every night, we don’t have those guys available all the time. We have to look at the big picture at times. That’s another fine line I have to walk. But I wanna win every night.

“At the same time, I have to look at workload and the projections for 162 games. When they start getting up there in the mid-70s and into 80 appearances, we gotta back off. But when those guys are available and we have a lead, I’ll just say there’s a high level of confidence in that dugout.”

Truth be told, it hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows for the Braves’ bullpen. Aaron Bummer struggled mightily in the 19 games he pitched before being released. José Suarez gave up eight runs in seven games and was let go. Reynaldo López, who began the year in the starting rotation, has been inconsistent in his reliever role since.

Still, on most nights, the Braves have a group of guys who get the job done, no matter what the assignment.

“You always want to be striving to get to a higher-leverage spot, get to a bigger meaningful spot, but at the same time, whatever inning you gotta throw is extremely important because it allows the other guys to get the proper rest, give the team an opportunity to win,” Kinley said. “I think everyone’s just kind of relentless and just excited for whatever opportunity they get.”