Image credit: IMAGE IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Rome Brewers (1) at Tampa Bay Rays (1) (or is it the other way around?), 8:00 PM ET
MIL: Jacob Misiorowski (15-6, 3.10 ERA, 116 DRA-);
TB: Johnny Whatsleftofstaff
In the first decade or two of the Christian era, a Roman poet/contemporary (or indeed of his time) Germanicus Caesar told of a hare fleeing from a dog, trying to escape by jumping into the sea, only to be eaten by a sea dog, or sea dog. The first variants were documented in proverbs that became staples of Aesop and Tolkien; Out of the pan and into the fire.
Jacob Misiorowski was easily mortal at the time, but many mortals are still terrible. In Game 1, he threw five innings of one-run ball, going exactly twice through the order. At that time, the player hit only three hits, the lowest of the year. That said, even if the tire has failed its peak at the point of possibility, the 103 is still not easy hit, and the Rays hit five balls on the play at 95 mph, and one really dangerous one, Junior Caminero’s laser over Garrett Mitchell’s head. A big concern for Misiorowski, and something that will be evident early on, is his fastball command. What makes Misiorowski a guy with a DRA in the 50s is that he doesn’t shoot 103, he shoots 103 where it’s harder to catch up. In Game 1, he was throwing many of his pitches below the belt, and that was where the Rays hitters were able to catch him. If the Rays can make contact, they have a shot at pitching at some point in the middle innings, as they knocked him out after 78 pitches last season. If he can sail through the top of the order in the third, with Ashby and Uribe out of the traps, it is likely.
Rays… Well, the goal was first to get Nick Martinez to blame his role as Misiorowski’s opponent, an excellent job that gave the future Cy Young winner to draw in Game 1. But when his chances of starting increased, Kevin Cash took him out for two innings and 33 pitches to liven up the season. His other potential Game 5 starter, Ian Seymour, pitched just one inning, but it could have been two, as the lefty needed 32 shots of his own to get out of the twelfth. That leaves Steven Matz as the only arm in the postseason with any multi-inning experience, and even with an offseason later in the day, we’ll need multiple innings from him.
Matz finds great importance in this series, much in the same way as the sea hare. The veteran was a surprising choice for eight batters in Game 1, and he worked through three walks. He was used sparingly in Games 2 and 3, but he was also used in Games 2 and 3, which is no surprise given that the other is a lefty in the style, and also in the style he is hitting early this year. He’ll probably go through the lineup once before Kevin Cash starts asking everyone how they really feel, and he’ll hope he does it in two innings and not one.
Side note: The Rays are surprising some by adding rookie Brody Hopkins to their ALCS roster, despite his limited play in major-league action. They didn’t use him that time around, and they drafted him for Garrett Cleavinger. Unfortunately for the radio, this is the time when it would have been most useful: rolling your ankles when things look bitter. It is a shame.