The New York Yankees punched their ticket to the World Series on Saturday night, defeating the Cleveland Guardians in the American League Championship Series. The Los Angeles Dodgers could win the National League pennant and thereby book their own trip to the Fall Classic on Sunday evening, but doing so will require that they prevail while throwing a bullpen game at the New York Mets.
If you're a more casual baseball observer, you might be wondering what a "bullpen game" is, exactly. The simplest way to explain it is that it's when a team forgoes the standard pitching script. The Dodgers aren't going to send a pitcher to the mound in the first inning who they anticipate working five or six frames -- and that's by design. Instead, they'll rotate through a seemingly endless parade of relievers. Unless the game turns into a blowout in either direction (a distinct possibility given how the NLCS has played out), the Dodgers probably won't have a pitcher clear three innings.
Why? That's simple enough to answer: the Dodgers believe this is the best path to victory given that they're without a handful of talented starting pitchers, including Tyler Glasnow, Clayton Kershaw, and Gavin Stone. Of course, it's possible that they would be doing this even if they had a Glasnow or Kershaw to throw out there.
A few years back, a source with a well-regarded, non-Dodgers front office suggested to this writer that MLB's future had no country for traditional starters. It sounds wild, and it hasn't come to fruition during the regular season. (Yet, anyway.) That philosophy has clearly gained ground in the playoffs, however.
Here are three things to know about this postseason's bullpen frenzy ahead of Game 6.
1. Relievers have thrown more innings than starters
We may as well begin with this fact: pitchers classified as relievers -- meaning they've entered the game in a relief capacity -- have thrown more combined innings this postseason than pitchers classified as starters. Coming into NLCS Game 6, relievers have 333 1/3 innings to their name; starters, comparatively, have 320 innings under their belts.
It's to be seen how the remainder of the playoffs go, but if the trend holds this wouldn't be the first time that relievers finish October having shouldered more of the load. Back in 2021, relievers accounted for 55.1% of that postseason's innings. At the time, it felt reasonable to attribute some of that statistic to the greater circumstances by suggesting teams were being conservative with their starters' workloads in the first full season after the pandemic-truncated year. There's no such couching this postseason.
2. Third bullpen game for Dodgers
Sunday's contest will represent the Dodgers' 11th playoff game of the month. (They earned a first-round bye and then dispatched the San Diego Padres in the NLDS.) It'll also mark the third time this postseason they turn to a Johnny Wholestaff approach.
The Dodgers have started Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Jack Flaherty thrice apiece, as well as Walker Buehler twice. Their other contests this month have been opened by veteran reliever Ryan Brasier, who hasn't recorded more than four outs in either appearance.
The Dodgers are 1-1 in those matchups, which handily represent the ends of the spectrum. In NLDS Game 4, eight pitchers combined for a shutout on seven hits and two walks. In NLCS Game 2, five pitchers yielded seven runs on 11 hits and seven walks.
3. Dodgers not biggest bullpen users
This piece is framed around the Dodgers and NLCS Game 6, but keep in mind that they haven't been the only playoff team putting the onus on their relief corps.
In fact, the Dodgers entered Sunday ranked third in reliever innings thrown this month. The Mets, by virtue of playing an additional series, have thrown more than their NLCS foes. The team most reliant on their bullpen, though, was the Guardians. Rookie manager Stephen Vogt got his steps in during Cleveland's 10-game run, resulting in 53 relief innings thrown. (The Mets are at 50 2/3 and the Dodgers are at 49.)
The Guardians had two relievers appear in nine games (Tim Herrin and Cade Smith); another appear in eight (Hunter Gaddis); and three others (Emmanuel Clase, Eli Morgan, Erik Sabrowski) appear in five or more. Even Pedro Avila, added only for the ALCS after being left off the ALDS roster, found his way into three contests.
So no, the bullpen obsession isn't just a Los Angeles thing; increasingly, for better or worse, it's a modern baseball thing.
