The importance of starters?

It’s October. The most important thing for baseball fans is to watch October baseball. While watching postseason games, I was just wondering a question.

 

Well, baseball has changed frequently. We’ve seen openers or bullpen games during the regular season. Nonetheless, do starters truly eat fewer innings in the postseason? To solve my doubts, I decided to check on the MLB website.

 

Firstly, let’s look back at the 2021 postseason. The Braves won the World Series title. In the playoffs, their starters threw 64.2 innings over 16 games, posting a 3.48 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. At the same time, the Houston Astros, which lost in the World Series, let their starters eat 58 innings in 16 playoff games. However, they owned an ERA of 6.36 and a 1.62 WHIP. The Dodgers and the Red Sox each let their starters eat 46.2 innings with a 4.44 ERA. The Dodgers played 12 games in the 2021 postseason and the Red Sox played 11 games.

 

In the 2022 season, the postseason format was a new one and has been adopted since then. In the 2022 playoffs, the Phillies’ starters threw 81.1 innings in 17 games with a 3.76 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. Their starters did pitch well in the postseason. In the meantime, the Astros’ starters threw 71.2 innings over 13 games, posting a 3.39 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. They also had done a good job. And the Padres’ starters tossed 60 innings in 12 games in the 2022 postseason.

 

In 2023, the Rangers and the D-backs were playing in the World Series. In the postseason, the Rangers’ starters threw 84.1 innings in 17 games, posting a 3.63 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. At the same time, the D-backs’ starters owned a 3.51 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP over 82 innings in 17 games. The Phillies played 13 games in the 2023 postseason and their starters threw 70 innings, posting a 2.19 ERA and a 0.84 WHIP, which was great.

 

Finally, let’s look back at the last postseason. The Yankees played 14 games in the 2024 postseason. Their starters threw 66.2 innings, posting a 4.19 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. In the meantime, the Dodgers won the 2024 World Series title. In the postseason, their starters tossed 60 innings over 16 games. They owned an ERA over 5 and a 1.28 WHIP. The Mets’ starters threw 57 innings in 13 games last postseason. They had a 4.26 ERA.

 

Taking a closer look at the postseason over the last several years, well, it seemed that the Phillies’ starters were quite trustworthy. In 2022, the Phillies’ starters threw more than 80 innings in 17 games. In 2023, the Phillies’ starters threw 70 innings in 13 games even though they didn’t win the NL pennant. Nevertheless, there’s something worth comparing. In the 2021 postseason, the Braves and the Astros each played 16 games. Last postseason, the Dodgers played 16 games as well. Looking at their starting pitchers’ performances, the Dodgers starters threw 60 innings and the Astros threw fewer than 60 innings. Certainly, as we look at these 3 teams, their starters didn’t throw many innings. Of course, sometimes they used an opener in the postseason. This postseason, we can keep watching to see if the usage of starters will be different, in particular, in the LCS and in the World Series.