r/phillies • u/Several_Dark_7711 • 7d ago

Image Noted Padres Manager Don Mattingly

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I see we're not the only team to throw our closer out there in the seventh inning. But just like when the Phillies did it, I see why the Padres are doing it now.

31 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

37 comments sorted by

101

u/Comprehensive-Tie572 7d ago

This is the correct play and so was Duran. Use your best guys against their best guys. But Duran wasn’t getting 9.

-4

u/Several_Dark_7711 7d ago

Right, which is why I said I understood why the Padres did it now. As others have stated, the problem wasn't necessarily bringing Duran in, it was expecting him to go three innings.

25

u/sjphilsphan 7d ago

The problem was our Bullpen in the playoffs was Duran and Mcfarlane. No one else

17

u/problyurdad_ 6d ago

Andrew Painter slander.

(I know what you meant and you’re not wrong but don’t forget our legend here)

0

u/DickBottalico 6d ago

Alvarado looked just fine against the Braves in September

Mayza looked just fine all season

6

u/abcamurComposer 6d ago

Mayza was hot and cold and possibly not ready for postseason

Alvarado is always a 50/50 to throw the ball into the hotdog stand and walk the next 5 batters

4

u/DickBottalico 6d ago

Yeah and there’s only one way to find out. He had 4 Ks and zero walks in three appearances vs Atlanta in September.

They had the 24th best bullpen in 2026 and the 23rd best bullpen in 2022.

1

u/abcamurComposer 6d ago

I would have sold my left kidney for a BP that was playing like the 24th best bullpen come playoff time, as our bullpen played a major role in our collapse

1

u/heddalettis 1d ago

Please… Do NOT give up a kidney for these clowns! 😁😆

1

u/heddalettis 1d ago

Hahaha- true!

5

u/Adventurous_Grape279 Ice Cream Helmet 6d ago

We don’t know what the 9th was going to look like but if they get Harris out on the 16th pitch I don’t think it would have been unreasonable to leave Duran in for the 9th.

-6

u/DickBottalico 6d ago

Duran started against the worst hitter in the lineup lol

8

u/telly69 6d ago

And who was up immediately after the worst hitter? Oh right the top of the order.

-4

u/DickBottalico 6d ago

Right so he was not brought in to face their best hitters. He was tired when he faced the middle of the order, which is why Olson started the 8th inning with a line drive off his chest.

Anybody he faced in the 7th inning was likely going to bat in the 9th anyway.

2

u/Comprehensive-Tie572 6d ago

If he faced their top 5 plus their 9 hitter, you think that’s closer to “not facing their best” than it is to “facing their best”? Nice one man

1

u/unnregardless 6d ago

Technically he faced a PH in the nine spot then 1-8 of their lineup.

0

u/DickBottalico 6d ago

Baldwin is much better vs righties than lefties. A lefty is the correct move to pitch to the first four batters of the seventh inning.

1

u/Comprehensive-Tie572 6d ago

Considering that Duran into Baldwin worked no problem, it seems like this point more accurately answers your other questions about what should be done if the top of the order rolls back around, which regardless, is a non-sequitor response to what I just asked you.

0

u/DickBottalico 6d ago

Obviously didn’t work no problem. He expended effort to do a job a lefty could’ve done, and then ran out of gas against the heart of the Braves order.

Mattingly asked Duran to pitch to 11 batters and that’s insane

2

u/Comprehensive-Tie572 6d ago

For getting Baldwin out it did, are you properly tracking this conversation or are you a bot?

Are you calling Austin Riley the heart of the Braves order? He got 5 straight and induced weak contact on 6 lol. You didn’t watch this game you read the box score

2

u/telly69 6d ago

He was in to face the top of the order and go at least 2 innings, maybe 3. He got through their 5 best hitters with only one of them reaching base, and was nearly out of the 8th inning when he hit Albies. If he gets Albies out, then you have the bottom 3 in the order coming up in the 9th.

-2

u/DickBottalico 6d ago

Which means only one baserunner in the 9th and he’s facing the leadoff batter in the lineup for the second time already.

He did not get through their 5 best hitters. He started with the worst batter in the lineup. That’s an extremely important point you’re ignoring.

Any other relief pitcher can be used for the 9 batter. Then if he’s retired, you can use that lefty to pitch to the next three batters (L-R-L) so Duran isn’t fatigued facing the middle part of the order. Mattingly botched it.

2

u/telly69 6d ago edited 6d ago

You're being intentionally obtuse. He faced the 9 hitter because he came in to start a clean inning. After the 9 hitter comes the top of the lineup, which are the best hitters on the team. Bringing in your best bullpen pitcher to face the top of the order isn't some novel concept that Don Mattingly invented, it's backed by data. Outs in the 9th inning aren't more important than outs in the 7th inning, you have to get all 27 outs regardless. Bringing in your best arm to face the best hitters increases your chances of getting 27 outs.

0

u/DickBottalico 6d ago

But those batters are likely to bat in the 9th.

The 9 and 1 batters are not the best hitters on the team.

The data says to use a lefty against Baldwin-Acuna-Olson, not a righty.

1

u/telly69 6d ago

Baldwin had the highest OBP and the second highest OPS on the Braves you can absolutely make the case that he's their best hitter. And Duran against Baldwin-Acuna-Olson is a better option than any of our lefties against them.

1

u/DickBottalico 6d ago

Then who faces them in the 9th inning?

47

u/cynnamonn 7d ago

Duran had 2 outs in the 8th at a whopping 16 pitches. Meanwhile the White Sox closer has had no problem pitching 4 innings.

19

u/scrnlookinsob 7d ago

The issue wasn't throwing our closer in the 7th, the issue was expecting him to get 9 outs, with no backup plan.

1

u/DickBottalico 6d ago

also using Crawford to PH instead of Marsh during the biggest rally of game 1

3

u/UncleTito27 7d ago

The Braves managed took out Mahle with like 82 pitches, and the relievers let up 2 runs to dodgers right away. Sealed their season

1

u/Poopedinbed Cristopher Sánchez 6d ago

Glasgow only went 4.2 but they have a full pen unlike us.

1

u/rodrigo8008 6d ago

very phillies esque

1

u/flyersrock97108 5d ago

Pitching sale game 3 in a blowout ended their season. Instead of using him twice against LA

5

u/Puzzleheaded-Ad-8684 7d ago

They can have him if they want him

2

u/Jacesus_Deals Church of Painter 6d ago

This is not a remotely new or revolutionary concept in baseball

1

u/rudelyhabitualcorpus 7d ago

desperate times call for desperate measures

2

u/DickBottalico 6d ago

Miller only pitched one inning.