The Cleveland Indians will try to win their first World Series since 1948 with an entirely modern, fresh-out-of-the-testing-lab strategy: involve the bullpen, early and often.
Exhibit A is their set-up reliever, Andrew Miller, who became the first pitcher who was neither a starter nor the predominant closer to win a post-season award, the American League Championship Series Most Valuable Player.
No doubt the world will see more of the left-hander beginning Tuesday when Cleveland take on the winner of the Los Angeles Dodgers-Chicago Cubs National League Championship Series.
Not so long ago — like two years — relief pitchers who did not save games were baseball’s equivalent of backup singers, or horse track exercise riders.
So what kind of a world is this where Cleveland advances as American League champions, winning seven of eight games, with only one starter, Corey Kluber, pitching as many as six full innings?
That would be a world discovered by the Kansas City Royals in 2014, fuelling two consecutive World Series trips and a championship in 2015.
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The Royals, of course, developed their method during the regular season, using three hard-throwing relievers, to finish games from the seventh inning on.
The intention is to cut off opponents’ late-inning rallies before they develop, and, essentially, extinguish hope.
Cleveland has added their own twist to the strategy, different from the regular season, and partly by necessity. Their starting rotation has been decimated by injuries.
Manager Terry Francona tipped his hand early, in the first game of the first play-off series against the Boston Red Sox, when he summoned Miller (normally a set-up man who took care of the eighth inning for the Indians) in the fifth inning. Miller then pitched into the seventh.
The extreme move worked perfectly. The Indians held on for a 5-4 victory, keying a three-game sweep. Next came four wins in five tries against the Toronto Blue Jays, with Miller again leading a bullpen-heavy blitz.
Miller, who was acquired from the New York Yankees on July 29, appeared in 70 games for the two teams during the regular season, totalling 74-1/3 innings.
So far this post-season, Miller has appeared in six games, pitching 11-2/3 innings, without allowing a run.
The one-inning inning guy has averaged two innings in the post-season, and is thriving. Of the 35 outs he has recorded, 21 have come by strikeout, a 62.5 per cent rate. In the regular season, he eliminated 55 per cent by strikeout.
Some may be concerned that Miller is being overused or beaten up by Francona. Miller is not one of them. After collecting his trophy, he told reporters, “Honestly, I don’t feel tired. I feel I could keep pitching. There’s such a positive feeling right now”.
Miller is not alone. Closer Cody Allen (also not scored upon) has appeared in six of the eight games, as well, and handled more than three outs in three of those appearances. Allen averaged one multi-inning game per month during the regular season.
Cleveland relief pitchers have retired 46 per cent of opposing hitters in the play-offs, up from approximately 32 per cent during the season.
Nor are the Indians totally alone. Most closers in the post-season can expect to get six outs, not three. The Dodgers had closer Kenley Jansen start the seventh inning in their clinching first-round win over the Washington Nationals.
Yes, Clayton Kershaw showed up like Superman to notch the final two outs, but the trend is obvious.
Dominant bullpens are post-season power. Better get one. Quick.
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