Hendriks finishing strong

ARLINGTON, Texas — Ups and downs are part of every reliever’s world, but for Liam Hendriks, the vacillations this season were especially notable.

The first month, he had an ERA of 6.00. In May, his ERA was 1.46, but in June and July, his ERA was over 7.00. Since the start of August, Hendriks’ ERA is 2.75, and he’s been particularly excellent in the final month, allowing one earned run in 13 outings. He’s made a careerhigh 70 appearances and has 78 strikeouts, also a career best.

“It’s great he’s worked through it and now he’s pitching as well as he has all year,” manager Bob Melvin said. “Talk about guys ending on a strong note . ... To respond like he did, finish up as strong as he has bodes well for us looking where our bullpen pieces are for next season.”

Hendriks, unscored upon in 18 of his past 19 games, said he had different issues at different points this year. “There were a myriad of things I’ve gone through this year,” he said. “Not getting over my front leg, releasing the ball too late, not trusting my stuff — there has been a whole slew of things that negatively affected my season and positively affected my season. It’s just been one of those years. That’s the life of a reliever — that’s why consistency is so important.”

The July trade that sent relievers Ryan Madson and Sean Doolittle to Washington, along with reliever John Axford’s release, discombobulated him.

“A lot of the time I was struggling, it was when Madson had left — he and Axford were sort of my rocks, my sounding boards, and they were gone all of a sudden,” Hendriks said. “With the new group of guys we have, we’ve built that rapport now and we’re ready to go into next year . ... And mentally, trying to grind through things this year, I’m a lot better equipped for next year.”

Melvin said that the bullpen will be an area targeted for some moves this offseason, but the way the unit has pitched the last month potentially has lessened the need for major changes. The back end of Hendriks, Chris Hatcher and Blake Treinen in particular has pitched well in September.

“It’s going to be a targeted area, but maybe not as much as a month and a half or two months ago,” Melvin said.