Dusty Baker subscribes to a theory absent for most of this postseason.
“If a guy is dealing, you just let him keep dealing,” Baker said. “If he is not dealing, then you’ve got to make some adjustments.”
Before Wednesday, no American League playoff game had featured two starting pitchers finishing five innings. Framber Valdez and Chris Sale flew through five apiece at Fenway Park. Sale collected only one out in the sixth.
Valdez needed 11 pitches to procure all three. He exited the mound with 65 total, more than any Astros starter could muster across the first four games. No one stirred in the bullpen beyond right field, a stunning sight for any game in this series.
“Everybody talks about momentum, but momentum is controlled by the pitcher,” Baker said after Wednesday’s 9-1 win. “If the pitcher is dealing, all the momentum is gone.”
Valdez sapped every ounce of it from Boston. His eight-inning gem stabilized an Astros pitching staff that once seemed in shambles. Houston is set up famously for Game 6 on Friday night, a scenario that seemed impossible to envision earlier this week.
Valdez’s performance, and a late offensive eruption, afforded setup man Kendall Graveman and closer Ryan Pressly two days of rest after throwing in Game 4. Yimi Garcia, Brooks Raley and Phil Maton received a much-needed reprieve after appearing in three of the series’ first four games.
Garcia, Raley, Maton and Ryne Stanek have all thrown at least three innings against Boston. Garcia threw 67 pitches in his three outings. Raley totaled 56. Stanek had 30 after the first three games and then finished off Game 5 with a 17-pitch ninth.
Boston’s bullpen has actually covered more innings than Houston’s 46 2/3 frames this postseason. The Red Sox anticipated that, though, given Sale’s late return and the season-long struggles of their rotation. Boston tailored its roster to combat those factors, carrying a bevy of bulk relievers and putting some starters in their bullpen.
The Astros did not. No one in the organization expected 5 1/3 total innings from Houston’s first three starting pitchers — Valdez, Luis Garcia and José Urquidy — all of whom were more than conditioned to go deeper into games. A fourth, Zack Greinke, was not stretched out to go deep but lasted only 1 1/3 innings in Game 4.
“It’s a team game,” Pressly said Wednesday. “Whether the starters are going seven innings and the bullpen is struggling or vice versa, it’s just everybody picks each other up in this organization and this clubhouse. When you see (the starters) struggling a little bit, you are looking in the bullpen, and it’s like, ‘All right, boys, let’s go. We have to figure it out. We can’t let this get away from us.’”
Astros relievers have pitched to a 3.38 ERA in the American League Championship Series, allowing 11 earned runs in 29 1/3 innings. Boston’s bullpen has surrendered 17 earned runs in 19 2/3 frames, a 7.78 ERA. Houston’s performance is prolific, but the mounting workloads invited wonder how sustainable it could be.
No reliever will label himself unavailable in the postseason, but overwork will eventually show itself in pitch quality and endurance. Routinely asking for 15 or 18 outs from a bullpen is a recipe for disaster. Valdez helped to avoid it Wednesday. The Astros can line up their Game 6 strategy behind starter Luis Garcia because of it.
Garcia got only three outs in his Game 2 start before exiting with a sore right knee. The team is proclaiming him healthy, but Baker has insurance just in case. The manager said Jake Odorizzi should be available Friday for long relief. He threw 82 pitches after Garcia exited Game 2.
Long man Cristian Javier covered three innings during Game 4 and threw 57 pitches — his most since June 3. The Astros already exercise extreme caution with the 24-year-old righthander due to his future as a starter and the unique role he provides as a reliever. Multi-inning leverage weapons aren’t available regularly. Baker and pitching coach Brent Strom must calculate when to best deploy him.
The decision worked during Game 4, but it could leave Javier unavailable until a potential Game 7. Ostensibly, the Astros on Friday will stay away from Javier and Urquidy, the team’s most logical option to start Game 7 on Saturday should it be necessary.
Game situations and sense of urgency will always dictate usage. Take, for instance, Game 4. Graveman had not thrown two innings since April 3. He logged two terrific innings to keep Houston in a tie game.
Graveman is still relatively new to relief work and must be treated with caution. He threw on back-to-back days only three times with the Astros and seven times all season. Valdez’s performance Wednesday afforded Graveman an extra day off after his Game 4 workload. It should pay dividends.
Pressly warmed up during the ninth inning Wednesday but sat down in favor of Stanek once the Astros scored two more runs. Managers and pitching coaches are often reluctant to not pitch a reliever who’s already loosened in the bullpen. Pressly’s specific routine, coupled with an eight-run advantage, could have contributed to the decision.
“I go along with the guy that’s out there on the mound,” Pressly said before Game 5. “I don’t just continuously throw down there. Sometimes, if you watch closely, I’ll just kind of stand on the mound a little bit. I’ll move around, but I’m not wasting bullets down there. Especially in the postseason, you can’t be doing that.”
Valdez made sure he didn’t have to.
chandler.rome@chron.com
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