A couple of weeks ago, I was watching some highlights. In a highlight, a pitcher was on the mound, he used to make a start in the final game of the World Series a few years ago, but many fans might not clearly remember. Well, the main reason that many people might not remember his performance in that game of the World Series is probably that he didn’t toss too many innings in the game. After watching the video, I was thinking about a question.
Over the last 10 years, did starters in the last game of each World Series eat enough innings?
From 2013 to 2022, most of the World Series went “long”, which means that the series ended in 6 or 7 games. Additionally, over the last 10 years, no World Series ended in 4 games.
So, let’s start with those World Series that ended in 5 games. In 2015, Matt Harvey was the starter for the Mets in game 5 of the World Series. He did a great job. He didn’t allow any runs from the first inning to the eighth inning, however, he gave up 2 runs in the top of the ninth inning. At the same time, Edinson Volquez was starter of the Royals and he tossed 6 innings, giving up 2 runs (1 earned). And, in 2018, 2 left-handed pitchers started in the Game 5 of the World Series. David Price took the mound for the Red Sox and Clayton Kershaw was the starting pitcher for the Dodgers. They each went 7 innings. Price did a great job, allowing just 1 run. On the other side, Kershaw gave up 4 runs. Well, these 2 World Series weren’t long, but the starters of the last game of these 2 World Series each ate at least 6 innings.
In addition, let’s take a look at those World Series, which ended in Game 6. Over the last 10 years, there were 4 times that the World Series came to an end in 6 games. In 2013, John Lackey pitched well as a starter for the Red Sox in Game 6, giving up just 1 run. In the meantime, Michael Wacha only tossed 3.2 innings for the Cardinals and the Red Sox scored 6 runs against him. And, in 2020, the Dodgers and the Rays played in the World Series. Blake Snell was the starting pitcher for the Rays in Game 6 and he did a great job, giving up only 2 hits and 1 run over 5.1 innings. At the same time, Tony Gonsolin only tossed 1.2 innings for the Dodgers. The next year, the Braves faced the Astros in the World Series. Max Fried threw 6 innings in Game 6 of the 2021 World Series. He only gave up 4 hits and didn’t let the Astros score any runs. Nonetheless, the Astros starter only tossed 2.2 innings. Last year, Framber Valdez started the Game 6 of the World Series for the Astros and he only allowed 1 run in 6 innings. For the Phillies, Zack Wheeler tossed 5.1 innings.
Finally, things are always getting interesting in Game 7 of the World Series. As we can see, in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2019, the World Series title was decided in Game 7. Among those 4 World Series, there was only 1 time that starting pitchers from each team ate at least 5 innings. It was in 2019, 3-time Cy Young award winner Max Scherzer tossed 5 innings for the Nationals in Game 7 of the World Series and Zack Greinke threw 6.1 innings. In the other 3 World Series, some pitchers didn’t even throw 2 innings. In particular, Tim Hudson only tossed 1.2 innings in Game 7 of the 2013 World Series and Yu Darvish gave up 5 runs (4 earned) over 1.2 innings in the last game of the 2017 season.
In baseball games, a starting pitcher’s responsibility is, of course, to help a team win the game. Under ideal circumstances, a manager would like to see a starter pitch more innings in a game. But, in the playoffs, the most important thing is to win the game and to win the series. Furthermore, in the World Series, there’s little room for mistakes. In particular, in Game 7 of the World Series, there’s no room for mistakes. If a starting pitcher has some problems, it’s better to just change the pitcher and minimize the damage. Over the last 10 years, we can see that most starters didn’t toss too many innings in Game 7 of the World Series. Well, we don’t know how many games will be played in the 2023 World Series. But, if there’s Game 7, this is something worth watching.
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