Just look at games 4&5. Abreu faced the heart of the order in the 7th. Montero got the leftovers in the 8th. Seems obvious that they were pitching matchups rather than innings.
I thought about this too. But to be fair it was not going well for wheeler that inning. Rememember he gave up a hit to maldy, altuve beat out the double play, then Peña hit a single. Yordan was due either way, and bregman had hit wheeler well as he does with all aces. Alvarado had that one game stinker but in all other appearances he was nails. I will say however, that as he came out I leaned over to my friend and said, just like with montero, you can’t keep bringing the same guy out to face the same guys, eventually the hitter wins. It was like the 4th time they brought Alvarado in for Alvarez. I figured something would happen.
Maldy got hit by a pitch… and the Pena single was a slow roller up the middle (which was read well by Altuve and the lack of velocity on the hit allowed him to get to 3B). Alvarez did hit him hard the opposite way in game 2, and tried to do the same his first AB in game 6. If Wheeler maintained his velocity, and threw it in a similar location, there’s a better than average chance he would have gotten a better result than what happened.
This decision was eerily similar to Hinch pulling Grienke in 2019 - later innings, low pitch count, elimination game, one run game, starter has been pitching great and is still dealing but there some traffic on the bases. This is when being a manager is freaking HARD. I honestly don't know what the right decision should be, things could work out in so many different ways. I will say, this is when the offense not putting enough runs on the board makes the decision that much harder. Astros had already left a ton of dudes on base prior to Grienke getting pulled - if it's a 5-1 or 4-1 game at that point, it's easier to let your starter work through it and see if he can squeeze another out or two before pulling him because you have the cushion to do so. That's yet another reason why Framber's performance was so damn clutch in Game 6, even when we weren't scoring he kept the game so close it applied pressure on Thompson to make a move and he didn't have the luxury of just taking it batter by batter once Altuve and Pena got on base.
Ok, fair, let me ask you this then.. if it was Verlander, who got lit up in game 1just like Wheeler in game 2.. all the stats are the same. And verlander gets to that inning in game 6 of a close out game and has runners at the corners with 1 out in the 6th and we have a 1 run lead.. are you yelling to let him finish? Or pull him for one of your best relievers? it worked out in our favor, and like I said, that was too much of Alvarado that Alvarez got to see. But the decision wasn’t absolutely crazy…
I was happy when they got Wheeler out. He looked great. Velocity 98-99, soft contact, K’s. Alvarez hadn’t done much this series… minus the opposite field Crawford box RBI double in game 2. I’ve seen Alvarez get back on track when getting to face lefties the last couple of years. He almost gets more locked in. Granted, quality lefties can still get him out… but while they were managing by the traditional book, it wasn’t the better of the two matchups IMO.
Wheeler was dropping to 96-97 fastball in the 6th when they switched him up. Either way...glad they took him out.
I was at the game and was stunned when they took him out. He was at 70 pitches and he was definitely throwing wicked $h!t all night. Wheeler was stunned as well.
Was looking for who really made hard contact with him all night. I guess Peña’s first hit was legit off the bat. Not so much the 2nd one. Mancini’s was fairly weak. Struck out Bregman (hard to do) and Altuve twice.
I don’t think it was one of those deals where there was only one rational call because of the third time through the order penalty. But man, I was at the game and fairly close to the action. Wheeler hadn’t just been effective. He was overwhelming. Our guys were doing their best and didn’t look like they had a chance. Classic dominant power stuff with plus plus control and a broad repertoire he could go to at anytime. I forget who he got with a two strike curve ball … Maybe Bregs … but I swear it broke knees. Every last one of us was praying that there would be some form of traffic when the lineup turned over so that perhaps Thompson would play it by the analytic book and pull wheeler. I would bet heavily the Astros were thrilled.
This was the genius behind the Maldy hit by pitch. If we all knew what was going to happen, you know Maldy did.
Yeah, I'm watching it again right now, yet again. If Yordan had turned on that I'm pretty sure it would have hit the Jumbotron in RF
I agree the decision wasn’t crazy. The Phillies got to where they were by being aggressive with the bullpen and Yordan had seen Wheeler as much as Alvarado. You could say they should have used Dominguez if they were going to pull Wheeler. Yordan hit the fastest ball he’s ever hit for a home run. My take is it had more to do with Yordan than any decision the Phillies made.
Wheeler never scared me going into the series. I was just fine with his fastball staying out there. He's slightly above average... but not great. That said, Alvarado was in the minors this year. So even worse. I understand the Phillies had very few good options, but I can't trust a high leverage moment to a guy like Alvarado who hadn't even put a full season together. Either way, I liked our chance to do damage. What I did respect is that the Phillies stuck with what had been working. You don't change what you believe in even if your thinking is flawed.
I was rewatching highlights from last years ALCS against Boston and man what a great comeback. Jason Castro had absolutely the clutchest hit that series. We were down 2-1 at the top of the 9th, 2 outs and 2 strikes. He doesn't get a hit there, they go down 1-3 in the series with the next game in Boston. I'm so happy he's a champ now. Yordan was ridiculous hitting above .500 and single-handily outhitting the entire Red Sox team the last couple of games. Brantley had some very timely hits as well. I hope he comes back.
Wasn't the game tied in the 9th? Was still a huge turnaround game just like this year's game 4 was. Especially since that Boston game also featured another HR in the first inning that put them up 2-1. (Javier played a pivotal relief role in last years' game as well) I know this year's team is damn tough but after the 7-0 blanking in game 3, if they had gone down early in game 4, I'd have been very worried.
Yeah...Altuve hit a home run in the 8th to tie 2-2. But the 7 runs scored after 2 out in the 9th had to be a huge kick in the nuts.
