Tampa Bay Rays starter Blake Snell was taken out of the game after throwing just 73 pitches into the sixth inning. That decision cost them the series.
The Tampa Bay Rays starter for Game Six, Blake Snell, was absolutely dealing against the Dodgers. And I cannot put it into words how nasty Snell was. He was pitching like his 2018 Cy Young self when he posted a 1.89 ERA.
Snell struck out nine Dodgers batters and had only given up two hits into the sixth inning. After getting the first out of the inning, he gave up a single to Austin Barnes. Right after Snell got the ball back, Rays Manager Kevin Cash calls time immediately and walks out to the mound.
As you could imagine, Snell was furious because his stuff was working. I will repeat, he struck out nine batters in 5.1 innings with 73 pitches. Snell struck out the 1-6 batters in the Dodgers lineup at least once.
Snell struck out Mookie Betts, Corey Seager, and Justin Turner twice in the game. Those three are the hottest Dodgers hitter in the World Series and he struck them out twice. After Cash pulled Snell, the struggling Nick Anderson came in to face Betts with a runner on first base with an out.
Anderson was one of the best reliever-closer hybrids in the regular season with a 0.55 ERA, but that has not been the story in the postseason. Anderson has given up eight earned runs which equals a 5.02 ERA in the 2020 postseason.
Of course, Betts hits a double off of Anderson which moved Barnes to third. Now with runners on second and third, Mike Zunino is not able to stop a ball in the dirt which scores Barnes on the wild pitch. Soon after, Corey Seager hit into a fielder’s choice which scored Betts on a close play at home plate. The Dodgers were suddenly up 2-1 after Snell had been shutting down the explosive Dodgers lineup.
This was a bad decision in my mind and the announcers, Joe Buck and John Smoltz agreed. Not only did Cash takes out Snell prematurely after what seemed to be one of his best outings in the postseason, but he also replaced Snell with a struggling reliever. There were plenty of other options Cash could have gone to who had been pitching well in this postseason.
Diego Castillo has a 1.64 ERA, Ryan Thompson has a 1.93 ERA and Fairbanks has a 3.27 ERA. I sort of understand Cash’s thinking to bring in a fresh arm to face Betts and the heart of the lineup but why Anderson? He is clearly struggling in the postseason so why would you not bring in your best arm, who would be Castillo.
It is also not like Snell was struggling or losing his control. He was totally fine at 73 pitches and he has been consistent in the 2020 postseason so I am not sure why Cash was so worried about him facing Betts with a runner on base. Snell also struck out Betts twice during the game.
It is funny because when the starting pitchers were announced for Game Six of the World Series, I was questioning Dave Roberts’ decision to start Tony Gonsolin instead of Walker Buehler. I thought Roberts should have gone with Buehler because the Dodgers have the momentum and need to close out the series, so why not bring in their best starter. But now, I am here criticizing the other manager for his decision.
Cash made a terrible decision to not trust his 2018 Cy Young winner. They had a great opportunity to ride out Snell for another inning or two but Cash went with his bullpen and we know the rest. Tampa Bay Rays Twitter will be loud tonight.
This is one of the moments that will haunt Snell forever and he might have bitter feelings towards Cash now. Will he want to stay in Tampa and play for Cash?