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By Jon Weisman
On Friday, Don Mattingly was hit hard for not replacing Clayton Kershaw with J.P. Howell in the seventh inning.
Tonight, in the Dodgers’ 3-2 victory over St. Louis in Game 2 of the National League Division Series, Mattingly got almost as much grief when he replaced Zack Greinke with Howell.
Howell, whom it seems safe to say is in a slump after being at the top of his game for nearly the entire regular season, gave up a game-tying two-run homer to Matt Carpenter, the batter he would have faced with the bases loaded if Kershaw had been pulled one batter sooner.
It showed pretty starkly why Mattingly was reluctant to give up on his best pitcher in Game 1.
Greinke, like Kershaw, had thrown two-hit ball over six innings, but then sailed through a perfect seventh, so many wondered why Greinke was pulled before facing a batter in the eighth.
But Don Mattingly and Zack Greinke each said in postgame interviews that a five-batter, 20-pitch sixth inning — immediately after singling and then dashing from first to third with a head-first slide in the bottom of the fifth — sapped the pitcher, and they agreed at the time that Greinke probably had one more inning left. Greinke would add that the final decision could have gone either way, but he didn’t object to being removed.
But whether or not you buy that the Friday pitcher was gassed at 102 pitches and the other was filled with vigor at 103, the alternative was Howell vs. Carpenter.
Through September 18, Howell had a 1.17 ERA in 46 innings. Since September 19, Howell has faced 24 batters over 3 2/3 innings and allowed nine runs on 12 hits and a walk, for a 22.07 ERA.
Still, the biggest issue for the Dodgers might not be who pitches to Carpenter, rapidly joining the famed legion of Dodger-killers, but whether anyone can pitch to him.
The most vexing thing with Carpenter might be that while he’s famously worn down Kershaw by fouling off pitch after pitch, both his NLDS homers have been on the first pitch.
suekamm
I don’t care if the bases are loaded or if there’s a runner in scoring position. If Carpenter has a history of going yard, walk him intentionally. It’s better to give up a run by walking him than creating an opportunity for him to drive in four runs with a home run .
Al Kenderes (@Coach__K)
The Dodgers need to address their strategy (if they have one) for pitching to Carpenter. Perhaps pitch him tighter like the Cards do to Puig. Whatever their plan is, it’s not working. They need to address that before the next game.
chuck hoag (@hoagiebum)
Greinke seemed to be able to get him out. It is kinda weird that all of Carpenter’s heroics against the Dodgers have come against LH pitchers. Maybe use a Righty against him?
Ron Zrodlo
I have the perfect strategy for Carpenter,,bean him like they bean our guys. Every game. Keep him off the plate.
Mario Olvera
how about a fastball to the ribs like the Cardinals did to Ramirez last year? The Dodgers have too much class for that, they win fair and square unlike the Cardinals
Michael Green
First, I didn’t hear The Vin say anything about this, but Greinke came out for the 8th and then left. Was Mattingly doing it to get him his deserved ovation? Was there something they saw in the warmup tosses? Or did I miss something? If it was for the sake of the ovation, that was a very nice touch.
I don’t fault Mattingly for taking out Greinke at that point or for bringing in Howell. With a pair of left-handed hitters coming up, and Greinke not only having made enough pitches but also having run the bases (including that head-first slide into third, for which I suspect several Dodger officials really would have liked to have tied him to an anthill), it made sense, although it does fall into the Lasorda Theory of Baseball, that no left-handed hitter in the history of the game ever has gotten a hit off of a left-handed pitcher. As much as I love The Vin, I think he harped a bit too much about the idea that it’s hard to get through the 8th inning to get the ball to Jansen. Howell’s numbers and those of several other Dodger pitchers, including the quasi-revivified League, suggest otherwise.
I realize that, like many others, it sounded like I second-guessed Mattingly about Friday night because the posts came after the fact. I’m not second-guessing him here, and I didn’t disagree with the decision at the time. Since I’ve no Twitter feed and don’t keep a running tally on Facebook, you will just have to take my word for it that after the second hit in the 7th inning Friday night, I was asking myself whether Mattingly had a pulse, and I still am.
Jon Weisman
Mattingly waited to see what pinch-hitter would be announced (Tavaras), then they made the move.
Michael Green
Thanks. That makes sense. I also wouldn’t fault Mattingly if he planned to take him out anyway and wanted to make sure he got the plaudits, because he deserved them. Now about that head-first slide ….
oldbrooklynfan
I think the way Kershaw finished up on Friday is still on my mind and I’m sure on most Dodgers fans’. I think we’d all feel better if Howell would’ve taken the brunt instead. I hope Kershaw is physically and most of all mentally ready to pitch again in this series. He’s bounced back before so that’s the only hope we got.
As far as Carpenter goes I can’t see him keeping it up. I hope not.