Two years ago, it was Jon Lester containing the Indians for three innings in the biggest game in Cubs history. Last fall, it was the Astros' Charlie Morton performing some Game 7 World Series magic on the Dodgers.
Normally used as starters, Lester and Morton put exclamation points on championship seasons with memorable bullpen outings. With the playoffs almost here, more and more rotation guys are trending toward double duty. Don't be surprised if you see Lester and Morton joined by guys like Clayton Kershaw and Trevor Bauer coming out of the bullpen in key spots.
The use of regular-season starters in playoff roles spiked in 2017, continuing a trend that has gained steam under the 10-team playoff format adopted in 2012. But this is more than Houston manager A.J. Hinch tossing in the towel on his fading bullpen. Starters Morton, Lance McCullers Jr. and Justin Verlander combined for 13⅔ postseason innings for the Astros last October/November, highlighted by Morton's four closeout innings in the World Series clincher.
How big is the increase? Note how the percentage of overall relief innings increases in October, which makes sense since starters will be on a shorter leash.
A larger slice of that playoff bullpen pie is going to members of the rotation, whom we define as pitchers who made more than 50 percent of their appearances as starters that season.
This is not a new concept. Fifty years ago, in the 1968 World Series, the Cardinals' Steve Carlton, left out of the rotation, worked twice in relief in a seven-game series against the Tigers that featured a combined seven complete games. But the entire postseason back then was one seven-game series. Today, a team can play up to 20 times in a single playoff run, and that leaves ample innings to fill.
With rotations streamlined in October, back-of-the-rotation starters settle for relief roles, which explains some of the increase. But with so much on the line, current teams are turning to their upper-tier arms as well. A No. 1 or No. 2 starter, after all, is a better pitcher than a middle reliever, which is why he is in the rotation in the first place.
It worked out just fine for the Cubs and Astros, just as it did in Game 7 of the 2014 World Series, when starter-turned-reliever Madison Bumgarner shut down the Royals with five scoreless innings. But it can backfire -- the Nats' Max Scherzer was lit up by the Cubs in Game 5 of the 2017 NLDS.
Using our 50 percent metric, 25 starters saw work out of the bullpen in the 2017 playoffs. Heading the list was the Dodgers' Kenta Maeda, who worked 10⅓ innings. "It's not enjoyable. It's a very hard job," Maeda told the Los Angeles Daily News. No kidding.
Let's look at the 2018 pennant contenders and their pitchers who could do double duty this October. We paid extra attention to the starters who excel early in their outings since relievers have less margin for error:
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Atlanta Braves: The bullpen ERA for the Braves has spiked to 4.94 in September, 1.75 runs worse than in August. If manager Brian Snitker borrows a page from Hinch's 2017 book, one candidate is Mike Foltynewicz, who has allowed just two homers in the first two innings of his 30 starts.
Chicago Cubs: Lester threw 55 pitches against the Indians two years ago in Game 7, the same number he had in a Game 4 relief outing against the Nats in 2017. With Brandon Morrow done for the year and the status of Pedro Strop uncertain, the Cubs will have innings to fill in an injury-ravaged bullpen. If the Cubs end up in a long series, there is no reason to believe Lester won't make another long-relief outing. In case you're wondering, Cole Hamels has made one career relief outing in 393 regular-season games and none in 16 postseason appearances.
Milwaukee Brewers: Gio Gonzalez owns a 0.90 first-inning ERA in 30 starts, fourth-best among regular major league starters, but 16 walks in that span could be an issue. The late-August addition has no issues with a heavy workload, compiling five seasons of at least 195 innings.
St. Louis Cardinals: A key contributor to the Cardinals' late-season surge is Jack Flaherty, who has a 2.37 ERA and .167 opponents' batting average in his past nine starts entering Monday. The right-hander is at his best early, with a .922 opponents WHIP the first time through the order.
Los Angeles Dodgers: Kershaw has five playoff relief outings and closed out the Nats in Game 5 of the 2016 NLDS for his only career save. Maeda already has made the switch to the bullpen this season, albeit reluctantly.
Colorado Rockies: The best option here is Kyle Freeland, whose 1.78 ERA over his first three innings is fourth best in the majors. German Marquez (9.00 ERA) and Tyler Anderson (10.86) struggle in the first inning, and Jon Gray (5.70) is a little better, and bounced back from a string of poor outings with seven solid innings Monday against Philadelphia.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Boston Red Sox: The workload of Chris Sale is being carefully managed due to injury concerns, but the Red Sox have a reason to be tempted to use him in relief -- he has 44 strikeouts in the first inning of his 26 starts. Sale did take the loss in relief in the ALDS ouster at the hands of Houston last season, allowing an eighth-inning homer to Alex Bregman. Meanwhile, knuckleballer Steven Wright is being considered for a setup role, similar to what the Red Sox did with Tim Wakefield in 2003 and 2004. Wright has made eight scoreless relief outings this month with his first career save, but a 5.1 BB/9 rate could be a red flag.
New York Yankees: The Yankees played 13 times last October, but then-manager Joe Girardi kept his regular starters out of relief roles because he had a lights-out bullpen. Expect the same from Aaron Boone since closer Aroldis Chapman is back from a knee injury and the Yankees added Zach Britton in July.
Cleveland Indians: Tribe president Chris Antonetti recently dropped a hint that the Indians have thought about using Bauer out of the bullpen, and why not? Bauer, who returned last weekend from a stress fracture in his fibula, has an MLB-best 0.69 ERA in the first inning. Bauer could be used in a "super reliever" role the way the Giants used Bumgarner in 2014.
Houston Astros: Morton's four dominant innings against the Dodgers speaks for itself. He also owns a .153 opponents' batting average the first time through the order this season. McCullers, who closed out Game 7 of the ALCS against the Yankees last year with four scoreless innings, was scheduled to work out of the bullpen this week after missing close to two months with a forearm injury.
Oakland Athletics: Injuries to the rotation and the front-office move to bring in a small army of veteran relievers (Jeurys Familia, Fernando Rodney, Shawn Kelley) make this an unlikely scenario in Oakland. In fact, the A's are more likely to employ an October "opener," a la the Tampa Bay Rays.