More than 50 pitches

A couple of weeks ago, I watched a highlight on TV. It was a game played in Asia, and a reliever threw more than 70 pitches. Previously, it wasn’t common to see a reliever throw so many pitches in a game. However, pitcher usage has changed. Now, there are long relievers or bulk relievers. Nonetheless, after watching the game, I began to think about a question.

 

In the postseason over the last few years, did we frequently see many relievers throw at least 50 pitches in a game? To understand a little bit more, I decided to check on the statcast website.

 

Pitches>=50 (RP, Postseason, 2020~2023)
Pitches	Times
50~59	10
60~69	12
70~79	3
80~89	1
90~	1

 

Looking back at the postseason from 2020 to 2023, there were 27 times that a reliever threw at least 50 pitches in a game.

 

Firstly, there was one time that a reliever used more than 90 pitches in a game. In 2020, Huascar Ynoa entered the NLCS game 3 in the top of the 3rd inning. He threw 4 innings in that game and in total, he used 92 pitches. He struck out 4 batters and gave up 4 walks. But he didn’t allow any runs in that game.

 

In addition, a reliever used to throw 80+ pitches in a postseason game in 2021. In the ALCS game 2, Jake Odorizzi took the mound in the top of the 2nd inning. He went 4 innings in that game facing 19 batters with 82 pitches. Unfortunately, he didn’t slow down the opponent, giving up 4 runs (all earned).

 

Thirdly, there were 3 times that a relief pitcher used 70+ pitches in a postseason game from 2020 to 2023. Kyle Wright entered the game in the first inning of the 2021 World Series game 4. He was the second pitcher in that inning. In total, he faced 22 batters and threw 75 pitches in 2021 WS game 4, giving up only 1 run in 4.2 innings. Moreover, Nick Pivetta used 73 pitches in ALDS game 1 in 2021. He entered the game in the bottom of the 3rd inning and threw 4.2 innings with 3 runs allowed (all earned). Last postseason, Emmet Sheehan tossed 3.2 innings in the NLDS game 1. He faced 18 batters and threw 71 pitches, giving up 3 runs (all earned).

 

Finally, there were 22 times that an RP threw between 50 and 69 pitches in a game over the last 4 seasons. Julio Urias and Cristian Javier each made 3 relief appearances with throwing more than 50 pitches in a postseason game during this period. In particular, Urias went 5 innings in the 2020 NLDS game 3. He threw 68 pitches and gave up only 1 run (unearned). Cristian Javier threw 50+ pitches as a reliever in 2020 ALWC game 2, 2021 ALDS game 3 and 2021 ALCS game 4. He didn’t give up any runs in those 3 relief appearances.

 

Hence, over the last 4 postseasons, it was not so rare to see a relief pitcher throw at least 50 pitches in a game since some of them are bulk relievers or long relievers. And of course, the postseason formats have been changed. Nonetheless, it’s still worth showing that there were 25 times that an RP threw at least 50 pitches in a postseason game from 2008 to 2015. Yes, 8 postseasons.