Change has come slowly for Ned Yost when it comes to running his bullpen, but he has adjusted some this postseason. He's allowed Kelvin Herrera and Wade Davis to go beyond one inning ... but his openness to change can't stop now.
Yordano Ventura starts Game 6 for the Royals. He had a nice regular season and was fantastic in Game 2 of the ALDS vs. the Angels, but Ventura is slowing down. In his last two starts, his whiff rates on his fastball have dropped dramatically. The velocity is still there, but he got just one swing and miss out of 61 fastballs in his last start. He's also been unable to get through six innings in each of his last two games. That's perfectly reasonable for a 23-year-old kid pitching in October.
But the leash will be shorter for Ventura tonight; at the first sign of significant trouble he'll have to be removed from the game. Where will Ned Yost go next?
If the game is close, and it should be, option number one has to be Wade Davis. It could be the sixth or even the fifth inning, and the call has to go to Davis in what could be the most critical part of the game. Of the 82 games that Wade Davis has pitched in the regular and postseason this year, only twice did he enter in the seventh inning, the other 80 games he entered in the eighth or later.
Habits are hard to break, but Yost must consider using Wade Davis earlier than usua tonight. He should also consider using Greg Holland for more than one inning.
The last time Holland pitched more than one inning was September 13, 2012. He has an incredible streak of 150 consecutive games pitched of one inning or less. In 10 postseason games, he has pitched exactly 10 innings. Mariano Rivera pitched in 96 postseason games in his career, and in 58 of those games he pitched more than one inning.
Last postseason, the Braves went home after Juan Uribe hit a huge go-ahead home run off David Carpenter. All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel was warming up in the bullpen as the ball sailed over the fence. Kimbrel hadn't thrown two innings in nearly two years at that point, and to date has only thrown more than one inning in nine of his 300 games pitched.
It's OK to stretch your best in the postseason. In fact it's nearly mandatory if you want to win. For Royals fans, let's hope Ned Yost is up for it in Game 6.
