Image credit: IMAGE IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Rome Brewers (1) at Tampa Bay Rays (1), 8:00 PM ET
MIL: Robert Gasser (5-5, 3.87 ERA, 118 DRA-);
TBR: Freddy Peralta (10-11, 4.42 ERA, 108 DRA);
Then he lifted up the holy Matchup of the World, saying: Bless this, Lord, that with it you may strike your enemies little by little, in your mercy. And the Lord smiled, and the people feasted on lambs and toads, and idlers and bats, and orangutans, and a breakfast of corn.
This fight between the two is primarily DRA-based, but I’m sure you’ve watched enough times by now to know that the numbers just don’t tell you how they’ve gotten lately. Hitters in both lineups need to cut down opposing bats before they can feast on the fruit of the tree. Or whatever.
“First you will draw Santa Peralta. Then you will count to three. Three will be the number to count, and three will be the number to count. You will not count four, nor will you count two, except that then you go to three. Five will come out correctly.”
For it is five not It came out right, as a big game from Peralta can perform Game Five. Fastball Freddy, the ALCS MVP, has yet to throw a single hit on the plate. The 258 pitches that were thrown include 173 heats in the 95-99 mph range, 66 changes, and 19 curves. First of all, not many people can get away with just a fastball/changeup 92.6% of the time, which is probably why the Mets thought they had to use more teams and such. They finished last in the NL East on the road.
That being said, the face used hitters in October. Fifty-nine of the 69 hitters used opposite hands, and six of the 10 matchups were against the same hitters against Jo Adell. He made 26 total playoff calls, including 24 goals and two turnovers. With three right-handers in Milwaukee’s lineup, he might throw even more fastballs than usual. Maybe we’ll even get a slip or two. Probably not.
“Once the triple number of counting is reached, then the holy Gasser Grenade lobes on your opponent, who, wicked in my sight, will extinguish.”
Rome’s rotation is top-heavy. Jacob Misiorowski has been the best pitcher in the MLB this year, and Logan Henderson had a very good season, even though Tampa Bay shut him down in the first inning of Game 2. Gasser isn’t as scary as the first two. Imagine if the Brewers had arms like Peralta and Drew Rasmussen. They should look at it.
In fairness to Gasser, he’s been a lot better lately, putting up a lot like his opponent and former teammate. In his last six appearances dating back to September 7, including four games in the regular season and two in the playoffs, he has allowed four runs and 29 base runs in 31 innings. He did not allow more than one run in any of those innings.
As Peralta, relying on the two best voices, although not at the same extreme, leaned more heavily. For Gasser, that is the sinker and his vessel. At the same time, his analecta usage was 25%, and his sinker was 23%. As of September 7, the four-seamer, dribbler and change-up can still be mixed by appearance, and he still throws 25% of the strikes, but his usage is down to 30%. He also filled the strike zone with a 65.0% strikeout rate.