In Game 6 of the National League CS, the Dodgers used seven different pitchers to defeat the Mets, but none of them pitched more than two innings. The only pitcher to retire more than four batters was closer Blake Treinen, who pitched the final two innings for the win. From Los Angeles to the World Series.
Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake watched the game and praised what the Dodgers' pitching staff accomplished, but he didn't encourage too many teams to try it, especially in the playoffs.
“They're making the most of their abilities and they have some really good relievers,” Coach Blake said. “If that's a strength, lean on it like Cleveland did and don't try to be something you're not or force your starters. But a lot of things go right in the bullpen game. We have to. All it takes is one guy moving laterally and the matchup is thrown off.”
The Yankees have four starters in their lineup for the World Series, starting with Gerrit Cole for Game 1 on Friday in Los Angeles.
Carlos Rodon, Clark Schmidt, and Luis Gil could be available for Games 2 through 4, so the bullpen needs to be as rested as possible during this period.
Los Angeles entered the game with only three regular starting pitchers in the NLCS. Jack Flaherty, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Walker Buehler will start in Game 1 of the World Series.
This isn't by choice, as the Dodgers have dealt with injuries to Tyler Glasnow, Clayton Kershaw and Tony Gonsolin.
Due to the way the World Series schedule is set, teams must either require a fourth starter, rest Game 1 starters briefly and return, or use a bullpen game. yeah.
“We're very proud of the guys we have that are going to be in there,” Schmidt said of the Yankees' playoff rotation. “Even in a playoff scenario, when the game could transition to more bullpen games, we have a staff that makes sure our players feel safe every time they go into a game.”
“You use up a ton of bullpen arms, Game 4, Game 5, Game 6 or whatever, and the batting line is seeing them three days in a row or four times in four at-bats. That changes a lot,” Carlos said. Rodon said. “You can see that some of your arms are overused and aren't up to their normal speed. It's the postseason, so you need to get those arms out there in the game. Those arms are your A-arms 1. But I think there's value in having a starter go through the lineup three times in the postseason. … I think it's pretty valuable to have a good starting pitcher.”
It's been a good run for the Yankees, and the team will be further tested in the World Series.
According to FanGraphs, no bullpen has pitched more innings than the Dodgers so far in the postseason (57).
The Yankees pitched 38 square inches/3/3 innings to get to the World Series.
Follow The Post's coverage of the Yankees in the postseason.
“As we saw last round, every hitter is important, so we want to shave off as many outs as possible before going to the bullpen,” Blake said. “Everyone is going to let out some smoke at the end, but it's going to come down to who has a little bit more left in the tank.”
