HOUSTON — Nobody needed a day off in this World Series more than those run-down relievers.
Brandon Morrow has pitched in all five games for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He had never pitched three straight days before talking himself into a wild Game 5, then allowed a tying home run on his first pitch. He left without getting an out and the Houston Astros suddenly ahead by three runs.
Morrow has given up three home runs in the postseason after not allowing any in 45 regular-season appearances.
“It’s not just the amount of games you play, but emotional investment and the incredible focus that everybody has,” he said. “It wears on you mentally, and that kind of mental focus kind of wears on you physically. So yeah, it’s a grind. Guys are fatigued, but not tired, if that makes sense.”
After a 162-game regular season plus another month of high-pressure games in the playoffs, they’re not done yet.
Game 6 is Tuesday night in Los Angeles.
Houston never even used struggling closer Ken Giles in its 13-12 win in Game 5, which ended early Monday morning after each team used seven pitchers in 10 innings over nearly 51/2 hours. The loser was Kenley Jansen, the Dodgers’ All-Star closer who had already blown a save in Game 2 – matching his total from the entire year to date.
Taxing bullpens and top relievers in the postseason is certainly not a new phenomenon. Look no further than last year’s World Series. For the first time ever in 2016, not a single starter recorded an out after the sixth inning – and that Series went the full seven games.
Chicago closer Aroldis Chapman won Game 7 against Cleveland, ending a 108-year title drought for the Cubs. But that was only after he blew the save in the 10-inning game. Indians reliever Andrew Miller had given up two runs and the lead over 21/3 innings, his second straight World Series game allowing a run after eight consecutive scoreless playoff appearances.
The Astros take a 3-2 series lead to Los Angeles, where they won Game 2 in 11 innings.
Astros Manager A.J. Hinch has said Giles will get the ball again in this Series but hasn’t specified in what role after the righty with 100 mph heat was tagged for five runs over 12/3 innings in his two World Series appearances. Giles lost Game 4 after taking over in the ninth in a 1-1 tie that turned into a 6-2 Dodgers win.
By this point in the season, it doesn’t really matter how many pitching changes are needed or when relievers are used, as long as they get outs.
“We’ve got to get 27 outs one way or another. I don’t care who gets them. Our guys don’t care who gets them,” Hinch said. “I think the comfortable roles and knowing who you’re going to face and what the game situation is going to be in, it’s just so unpredictable in this sport. Especially at this stage of the year.”
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