MLB Playoffs: Ranking the Top Five Pitching Duels from Wildcard Week
By Travis Koch
If you’re a fan of pitching duels, then this was your week. We ranked the top five mano a mano mound performances from the MLB Wildcard round.
A Wildcard round unlike any we’ve seen before in MLB has come to an end. What a strange round it was. Some battles yielded historically low scoring, or, in the Cincinnati Reds’ case, zero scoring. Other battles yielded the kind of loose offensive output that’s a far cry for teams fighting to survive by leaning on their best pitchers – ahem, Shane Bieber.
The majority of aces did their job, however, which led to a handful of epic pitching duels. Let’s count down the most applauded MLB mound matchups from the Wildcard week, starting at number five.
#5 Jack Flaherty vs. the San Diego Padres Bullpen
Game 3 winner-take-all between the St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Padres presented an old school vs. new school approach. In traditional fashion, the Cardinals sent their prized ace to the mound to ensure a victory, while the Padres hung their chances on “relievers galore.”
“Relievers galore” prevailed. The Padres used nine bullpen arms over nine innings and held the Cardinals to zero runs. Craig Stammen pitched 1.2 innings to open the game. Only Adrian Morejon would tie Stammen for outs recorded when it was all said and done. According to ESPN, last night’s nine-inning shutout was the first in MLB history involving nine or more pitchers.
Padres relievers escaped trouble on multiple occasions, including spots in which Pierce Johnson struck out Dylan Carlson with the bases loaded to end the third, and Austin Adams struck out Paul Goldschmidt with two men on to finish the 5th. Ultimately, Padres pitchers stranded nine Cardinals, allowed four hits, and recorded eight Ks.
St. Louis wasted a fine effort by Jack Flaherty. The sure-handed righty tossed six innings, forfeited one run, and fanned eight Padres. He overcame several high-stress situations as well, though the lone run he gave up was more than his team’s offense could produce.