This postseason has been a case study in bullpen usage. From Zach Britton to Andrew Miller to game five of the National League Divisional Series (NLDS), we’ve seen polar opposite approaches to bullpen usage.
In the AL wild card game, Orioles Manager Buck Showalter waited too long to use Britton, who had allowed one run in his previous 57 innings. In the ninth with the game tied, Brad Brach allowed the first two men to reach. Many thought this would be the perfect time for Britton. High leverage, in the ninth, but not a save situation. Showalter instead brought in Darren O’Day who got out of the inning. In the bottom of the 11th inning, Showalter brought in Ubaldo Jimenez, who had an ERA of 5.44 this year. Jimenez allowed two men to reach, and Showalter elected to let him face Edwin Encarnacion. At this point people thought surely Britton must have injured himself pre-game. Why else would the best reliever in baseball not be pitching during his team’s most important moment? Predictably, Encarnacion launched a three-run walk-off home run to end the Orioles’ season. Showalter waited to use his best pitcher to close out a lead that never came, and it cost him the season.
This mentality of not using your best pitcher in the most high leverage situation makes little sense. If you are waiting for the lead before using him, you may never get that chance because you used a worse pitcher who blew it earlier in the game.
Recently, though, we have seen managers like Dave Roberts or Terry Francona get the most out of their relievers. During the Indians series, Francona brought in Miller for a total of four shutout innings in two games. Miller played the “fireman” role most of the season and this trend continued in the playoffs, as Francona brought in Miller during the fifth inning of game one and sixth inning of game three.
Game 5 of the Dodgers and Nationals series was a cherry on top of a good bullpen management sundae. Rich Hill started but only went two and two-thirds innings. Down 1-0 in the fifth, Roberts called on Julio Urias to keep the deficit at one. Urias, who started 15 games this year, went two scoreless innings, giving up one hit. Roberts then brought in his closer, Kenley Jansen, for a nine-out save. Jansen went two and one-third scoreless innings over 51 pitches. To replace Jansen, Roberts made one of my favorite bullpen moves all season and brought in Clayton Kershaw, who had started and won Game 4, two days prior. And because Clayton Kershaw is Clayton Kershaw, he got the final two outs of the inning, stranding the winning run at first base.
Early on in this postseason we have seen some incredible bullpen management and some that has left a lot to be desired. Francona and Roberts showed that their relievers can succeed when brought in to pitch in non-traditional opportunities, a trend I hope to see continue.
Trending
The Print Edition
