Should Sanchez Start Game 3?
Given Corbin’s usefulness out of the pen, and Sanchez going full Mariposa in his emergence as a postseason force through two starts, it probably makes sense to, you know, pitch him more. By flip-flopping Sanchez and Corbin in the order, the Nats should be able to maximize the usage of both.
More from Call to the Pen
- Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
- Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
- Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
- Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
- 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals
Starting Sanchez in game 3 would mean giving Corbin just the one start in game 4. It would mean Corbin being available for a true piggybacking role for game 1 or as a throw-day reliever in game 2. Perhaps most importantly, it would mean unfettered use of Corbin out of the pen for games 6 and 7.
All Sanchez has done is prove himself entirely capable of pitching a big game. He also happens to have World Series experience, giving up just two runs in seven innings in a game 3 loss for the Tigers in 2012.
(Scherzer’s only career World Series start came the day after, and though the Tigers were swept by the Giants that year, it wasn’t the fault of the starting pitching. Their offense scored a total of six runs across those four games.)
Starting Sanchez in game 3 also means lining him up for a game 7 start, which might seem counterintuitive if you get yourself stuck on the idea of Sanchez as their 4th-best starter. In terms of prior planning, however, game 7 is the least important, as it has the greatest chance of not happening. Besides, by the time we get there, it’ll be an all-hands on deck situation for probably everyone besides the game 6 starter (presumably, Strasburg).
Which brings us back to the importance of the game 1 starter.
Whichever of Scherzer or Strasburg pitches in game 1 also gets the start for game 5, making them available out of the pen for game 7 or even a calculated throw-day appearance in game 3.
The game 2 starter will be limited to his two starts, plus a potential throw-day appearance in game 3 or 4. That means the game 1 starter could get an extra appearance.
Dave Martinez has managed under a few guiding principles this season: stay in the fight, go 1-0 every day, and as often as Max Scherzer can pitch, let him pitch. No reason to veer from the plan now.