Here are 5 statistics that explain the state of LSU baseball's bullpen

BATON ROUGE – No. 4 LSU baseball continued its recent run of poor form this weekend, dropping its second consecutive SEC series to Mississippi State.

Much of the reason behind the Tigers' recent struggles is their bullpen, a group that allowed 21 earned runs in the final two games of the series, both of which resulted in defeats.

The more embarrassing of the two losses came on Sunday when LSU (40-12, 17-9 SEC) blew a 13-4 lead by surrendering nine runs in the sixth and seventh innings before losing the game in the 10th.

With the SEC Tournament and NCAA Regionals starting in a matter of weeks, just how bad has LSU baseball's bullpen performed? And are there any silver linings to take from the unit moving forward?

Here are five statistics to help answer those questions.

18.29

LSU's bullpen ERA this past weekend was 18.29. Despite not using any relievers on Friday, the Tigers walked nine batters, hit another one and allowed 25 hits to Mississippi State. At 8-19 in conference play, the Bulldogs are projected to miss the SEC Tournament.

Saturday and Sunday were about as bad as it can get for LSU's bullpen. However, there's a reasonable case to be made that the only direction for them now is up.

6.32

After this weekend, the Tigers have a 6.32 team ERA against SEC competition.

The number is startling, especially considering that it includes Paul Skenes' dominance this season.

But put into context with the rest of the conference, the figure isn't quite as staggering. LSU is eighth in the SEC in team ERA and is ahead of Auburn and Texas A&M.

20.8%

LSU's bullpen faced 67 batters this past weekend and recorded 14 strikeouts, meaning that Tigers relievers struck out 20.8% of Mississippi State batters they faced.

In comparison to the rest of the league, that figure is below average. Mississippi State and Missouri both have a 20.8% strikeout percentage against conference competition this season, tied for 10th in the SEC.

But on Sunday, LSU also started Javen Coleman who had been a reliever this year up until this weekend. Include Coleman's five strikeouts with the bullpen's strikeout percentage from the series and the figure leaps to 24.1%.

That number would have finished fourth in the SEC if it were LSU's season-long strikeout percentage against conference competition.

PAUL SKENES' T-SHIRTS:Why LSU baseball jokester Paul Skenes started wearing T-shirts with pictures of teammates

LSU FALLS TO MISSISSIPPI STATE:LSU baseball's bullpen implodes in embarrassing series loss to Mississippi State

2.06

Prior to Tuesday's win against McNeese State, LSU has recorded 340 strikeouts from pitchers not named Skenes or Ty Floyd this season, the team's only consistent starters. That glut of pitchers, who have spent at least a chunk of the season as relievers, have also walked 165 batters this season.

Therefore, Tigers pitchers not named Skenes or Floyd have produced a 2.06 strikeout-to-walk ratio this season. That mark would be eighth in the SEC, ahead of Arkansas, Kentucky and Texas A&M.

Including Skenes and Floyd, the Tigers are third in the SEC in strikeout-to-walk ratio.

5.32

A closer look at the advanced numbers shows that LSU's pitching staff, including its bullpen, may be due for some better luck.

Fielding Independent Pitching is an advanced statistic similar to ERA but only tracks the outcomes a pitcher can control, including strikeouts, walks (not intentional), home runs and hit-by-pitches. Regular balls in play, from groundouts to triples, are not a part of the equation.

By this metric, LSU leads the SEC with a 5.32 FIP against conference competition. It's xFIP – Expected Fielding Independent Pitching, so instead of calculating home runs allowed it computes expected home runs based on a pitcher's (or in this case a team's) fly ball rate – which is third in the conference at 5.33.

Granted, these numbers include Skenes' otherworldly 2.15 FIP and 2.11 xFIP. The Tigers would surely be closer to the middle of the pack if his numbers were lifted from the equation.

Regardless, LSU's ERA being an entire run greater than its FIP shows that the Tigers' pitching staff is due for some better fortune on batted balls in play, just as they inch closer toward the start of the postseason.

Koki Riley covers LSU sports for The Daily Advertiser. Email him at kriley@theadvertiser.com and follow him on Twitter at @KokiRiley.