The Bronx has seen some dominant World Series pitching performances, and for that matter, so too has Chavez Ravine. But anyone watching Game 4 of the World Series on Tuesday night could see how far removed we are from the era of aces like Sandy Koufax.
The Los Angeles Dodgers threw a bullpen game for the fourth time this month in an 11-4 loss to the Yankees. They’re 2-for-4 when it comes to using relievers to cover 27 outs, with this latest bullpen loss allowing the Yankees to extend the series to five games.
The Dodgers came into Game 4 up 3-0 in the series and took a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Rookie right-hander Ben Casparius held the lead, giving up one run in the bottom of the second. But then they went to right-hander Daniel Hudson in the third inning and he gave up a two-out grand slam to Anthony Volpe.
The Dodgers said all of the right things before the game. They talked about keeping their foot on gas and not giving the Yankees any hope. But now there is hope. If the Yankees make it 3-2, they’ll have a little more. Tie it at 3-3, well, then it becomes a coin-flip.
The Dodgers might have the advantage in the series, but by emptying their bullpen they’ve now let the Yankees lineup see all of their pitchers. They know what these guys have. Landon Knack pitched four big innings in the middle to help, holding the Yankees to only one run and keeping the score close. But then Brent Honeywell imploded for five runs in the bottom of the eighth to push the game out of reach for Los Angeles.
It was the Yankees bullpen that prevailed. A patient Los Angeles lineup suddenly lost its patience and struck out seven times against three of five New York relievers. The Dodgers struck out only once in the first five innings.
An elimination game with a championship on the line is exactly when you want to see a dominant start. You want to see someone shove, you want to see a guy leaving everything he has on the mound for seven innings before handing the ball over to a reliever.
Maybe it’s naive to romanticize the series of years past. Baseball’s definition of an ace has turned into a guy who can give you about five innings anyway, and to be fair, the Dodgers are down four starters this fall and the Yankees used more relievers behind Luis Gil than their opponents did behind Casparius.
But still, a bullpen game in the World Series lacks excitement. It feels more like a game in the middle of August than the end of October. The pitching changes slow the pace and the game lacks rhythm. Fan interest can start to wane.
The Dodgers might not have very many options at the moment. They didn’t want to use Jack Flaherty on short rest and Clayton Kershaw, Tyler Glasnow, Tony Gonsolin and Gavin Stone are all injured. You’d think that a $300 million payroll would provide them with a little more depth, but it would be tough for any team to absorb those losses and yet the Dodgers have not only absorbed them, but rode their depth guys to a 3-0 lead in the World Series.
The Los Angeles bullpen eliminated the Mets in Game 6 of the NLCS, but they couldn’t eliminate the Yankees in the most important game of the season. Game 5 will feature an ace for the Yankees with Gerrit Cole set to make his second start of the series, and a Los Angeles area native for the Dodgers with Jack Flaherty.
Maybe one of them will provide the kind of iconic pitching performance the World Series deserves.
