The usage of starting pitchers in relief during the postseason

By Jeff Lombardi Jr.

Max Fried, J.A. Happ and Max Scherzer all had something in common on Friday: they each worked a scoreless eighth inning en route to a postseason victory for their club. Another thing they have in common: they are all starting pitchers.

 Besides Friday and other recent instances, starting pitchers have shown value as relief pitchers. Before Chris Sale and Charlie Morton closed out each of the last two fall classics, there were the likes of Randy Johnson (G5 1995 ALDS, G7 2001 WS), Pedro Martinez (G5 1999 ALDS), Mike Mussina (G7 2003 ALCS) and Madison Bumgarner (G7 2014 WS) … just to name a few. However, over the past six postseasons there has been a dramatic increase in the number of relief appearances made by starting pitchers.

Postseason Relief Appearances by Starting Pitchers
Since 2014

2014    15        (in 32 games)

2015    26       (in 36 games)

2016    10        (in 35 games)

2017    38        (in 38 games)

2018    51        (in 33 games)

2019    7          (in 8 games)

*“Starting Pitchers” – Min. 20 starts in regular season

The number jumped from ten in 2016 to 38 in 2017. In 2017, Kenta Maeda and Ross Stripling went from the Dodgers rotation to the bullpen; John Lackey and David Price did the same for the Cubs and Red Sox, respectively. But more importantly, 2017 saw a few top-flight pitchers appear as both starters and relievers. Lance McCullers Jr. earned the save in Game Seven of the ALCS and started Game Seven of the World Series. Charlie Morton closed out Game Seven of the World Series.

 The league-wide number of relief appearances increased to 51 last season, when Alex Cora busted down the door that A.J. Hinch left ajar in 2017. The 2018 World Series winners entered October with a bullpen which was their speculated Achilles heel heading into October. So Cora got creative to find a solution.

 Of 55 Boston relief appearances, 15 were made by pitchers who made at least 20 starts during the regular season (27.2%). Of the Red Sox 63 relief innings, 18 were thrown by starting pitchers (28.6%) – the highest percentage of any team in last year’s postseason. With relief appearances from starters Chris Sale, Rick Porcello, David Price and Nathan Eovaldi, Cora demonstrated that aces can be effective in relief, even between starts. (Eovaldi earned a healthy $68M free agent contract thanks large-in-part to his 9.1 innings of one run ball as a reliver in the postseason.)

 Through eight postseason games in 2019, there have been seven relief appearances made by six starting pitchers – the list: Stephen Strasburg, Max Fried (2), Kenta Maeda, Kyle Gibson, J.A. Happ and Max Scherzer.

 How they’ve fared… 

            IP        ERA    WHIP  K/BB

2014    26.2     2.70     0.94     24/9

2015    32        6.19     1.47     31/13

2016    13        5.54     1.46     13/6

2017    72        3.50     1.03     78/26

2018    61        3.39     1.23     65/23

2019    9.2       2.79     0.93     16/4

Total   214.1   3.86     1.19     227/81

Not too shabby.

 This is not to diminish the importance of a strong bullpen when it comes to making a deep run in October. Just refer to the 2015 Kansas City Royals, whose bullpen pitched to a 2.51 ERA over 64.2 innings during their World Championship run. The only starting pitcher to appear out of the bullpen for that KC club was Danny Duffy, who threw six innings and allowed four runs.

 In recent years, postseason play has in fact diminished the distinction between starter and reliver; especially as the rounds play on. Thus, bridging the gap between the traditional way of thinking (relying on starting pitching) and managing and today’s forward-thinking game where starting pitchers are rarely allowed to face a lineup for the third time.

Percentage of Relief Innings Pitched by SP

MLB Postseason 2014-2019

            SP IP              RP IP              Relief IP by SP          % of Relief IP by SP

2014    356                  239                  26.2                             11.2%

2015    396.2               258.2               32                                12.4%

2016    357.2               272.1               13                                4.8%

2017    359.2               313                  72                                23%

2018    309                  305.1               61                                20%

2019    83.2                 55.1                 9.2                               17.4%

Looking at the 2017 and 2018 postseasons, two out of every nine relief innings have been thrown by a starting pitcher. In all, “starting pitchers” (based on their min. 20 GS in the regular season) have accounted for 5.2 innings per game over the last two postseasons – no matter whether the innings came in a start or in relief – equaling the average of MLB starters in the regular season. So despite all the calls to the bullpen in the postseason, the league-wide usage of true relief pitchers is slightly lower than what it is over 162, and the usage of starting pitchers in relief roles during the postseason is only trending up.