Bully for the ‘pen, the Nats’ unsung heroes

Washington Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper (34) greets his teammates in the bullpen as he heads to right field for the first inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Nationals Park, Saturday, May 28, 2016, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) — The Nationals’ bullpen has quietly been among the best in baseball this year. See more about its success below, and scroll through the slides to see stats for each reliever. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

FILE- In this March 13, 2016, file photo, Washington Nationals' Matt Belisle pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals in a spring training baseball game in Viera, Fla. The Nationals have informed the right-handed reliever that he made the 25-man roster. Belisle signed on the eve of spring training and on Tuesday, March 29,2016, the Nationals said they will add him to the roster. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File) — **Matt Belisle** 0-0, 1.50 ERA (1 ER/6.0 IP), 1 BB, 3 K in 7 appearances **Key Stat:** Six straight scoreless appearances before landing on the DL. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Washington Nationals relief pitcher Shawn Kelley throws during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals Saturday, April 30, 2016, in St. Louis. The Nationals won 6-1. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson) — **Shawn Kelley** 1-0, 1.80 ERA (4 ER/20.0 IP), 4 BB, 27 K in 24 appearances **Key Stat:** Team-leading 6.75 K/BB rate (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Washington Nationals relief pitcher Jonathan Papelbon celebrates after the Nationals defeated the Miami Marlins 4-1 in a baseball game, Friday, May 20, 2016, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee) — **Jonathan Papelbon** 0-2, 3.18 ERA (8 ER/22.2 IP), 7 BB, 18 K in 23 appearances **Key Stat:** 15/17 in save opportunities (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Washington Nationals relief pitcher Oliver Perez (46) throws an interleague baseball game against the Minnesota Twins at Nationals Park, Saturday, April 23, 2016, in Washington. The Nationals won 2-0. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) — **Oliver Perez** 1-1, 3.07 ERA (5 ER/14.2 IP), 6 BB, 18 K in 22 appearances **Key Stat:** Has stranded all 15 inherited runners this year. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Washington Nationals relief pitcher Yusmeiro Petit, left, celebrates with catcher Wilson Ramos after a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Friday, April 15, 2016, in Philadelphia. Washington won 9-1. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) — **Yusmeiro Petit** 1-0, 2.89 ERA (9 ER/28.0 IP), 5 BB, 23 K in 14 appearances **Key Stat:** Seven appearances of 2.0 innings or more (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Washington Nationals relief pitcher Felipe Rivero throws during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals Sunday, May 1, 2016, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson) — **Felipe Rivero** 0-2, 5.19 ERA (15 ER/26.0 IP), 7 BB, 34 K in 29 appearances **Key Stat:** Holding righties to a .121/.177/.259 slash line (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Washington Nationals relief pitcher Sammy Solis (36) delivers a pitch during the eighth inning of an interleague baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Tuesday, May 10, 2016, in Washington. The Tigers won 5-4.(AP Photo/Nick Wass) — **Sammy Solis** 1-1, 1.59 ERA (3 ER/17.0 IP), 9 BB, 20 K in 13 appearances **Key Stat:** 12.1 IP, 4 H, O R, 6 BB, 17 K since May 10 (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Nationals relief pitcher Blake Treinen (45) during a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., Wednesday, May 4, 2016. The Nationals defeated the Royals 13-2. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner) — **Blake Treinen** 3-1, 2.70 ERA (7 ER/23.1 IP), 10 BB, 25 K in 26 appearances **Key Stat:** Career-best 9.6 K/9 IP (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

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WASHINGTON — As the first week of June comes to a close, the Washington Nationals continue to hold down the top spot in the National League East, leading the New York Mets by two games. Some of the reasons why — Stephen Strasburg’s dominance, Daniel Murphy’s career year, Joe Ross’s breakout — are obvious. But the Nats’ revamped bullpen has quietly been excellent.

Generally, bullpens are only noticed when they fail, and the relief corps was shaky this past weekend, losing a game late Saturday and hanging on by the narrowest of margins to eek out a win Sunday.

But Washington’s bullpen leads the National League in ERA (2.97), has walked the fewest batters in the league (49) and has allowed the fewest runs (52) of any team in baseball. Nats relievers have only four blown saves as a unit, converting 80 percent of their chances, tied for third-best in MLB. Their collective WHIP (1.09) and K/BB rate (3.43) are both third-best in the game.

Every pitcher except Felipe Rivero owns an ERA at least 33 percent better than league average. Five of the eight are averaging better than a strikeout per inning, and that group doesn’t even include Jonathan Papelbon.

That’s a major step forward from a group that ranked 10^th in ERA and was just 23^rd in save percentage, at 64 percent. Yusmeiro Petit, Sammy Solis and Blake Treinen have all outpitched their FIP by more than a full point, but the highest leverage guys have actually pitched better than their numbers reflect. Papelbon’s FIP (3.04) is slightly lower than his ERA (3.18), while Rivero’s (3.28) has been markedly better than his ERA (5.19).

Bullpen help is often the easiest to find as teams approach the trade deadline, but it’s not clear, at the moment, that Washington needs to make any major improvements.

Veteran Matt Belisle is due off the disabled list soon, and at this point there isn’t an obvious guy to replace on the roster. That’s a problem any team would like to have, and while it may not preclude the team from looking for more back-end depth in July, the ‘pen’s continued success will go a long way toward keeping the Nats in prime playoff position.