ATLANTA — Braves manager Brian Snitker said all the right things about how he would approach Game 3 of the World Series. Then Snitker made decisions that didn’t seem to match his words.
Here was Snitker before the game on how his thin pitching staff would affect his decisions:
“Tonight we’re going to start this game and go after it. If we can win it, we’re going to do everything we can to win it and worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.”
Here’s what Snitker did during the game: He pulled starter Ian Anderson after he’d thrown five scoreless innings on 76 pitches with no hits allowed.
The Braves needed Anderson to go long. He did his part. He could have done more. But Snitker decided to have his relief pitchers cover the final four innings.
The decision worked. The Braves won, 2-0, and lead the best-of-seven series 2-1. Relievers A.J Minter, Luke Jackson, Tyler Matzek and Will Smith covered the four innings with no runs allowed. But cutting Anderson’s start short and using so many relievers could have residual effects for the Braves over the rest of the weekend.
It would be fine to do that if, as Snitker said, it was the best path for doing everything possible to win the game. But Snitker had a choice. Anderson had pitched five efficient and effective innings. Pulling him was a matter of preference, not desperation.
Snitker will have to patch together two so-called bullpen games Saturday and Sunday. It’s unlikely that all his best relief pitchers can go three days in a row. Bringing back left starter Max Fried on short rest for Game 5 is an option. A better one would have been letting Anderson keep pitching so long as he was effective.
The Astros had to be glad to see Anderson leave the game. They couldn’t do much against him. Another bonus of Anderson’s quick hook for Houston’s hitters: more chances to face the best Braves arms from the bullpen. That’s good information for later in the Series.
Anderson wasn’t his sharpest. He walked three batters and hit one with a pitch. Anderson still was getting it done. He started slowly but recovered.
Anderson’s first three pitches to leadoff hitter Jose Altuve were balls. Only one of them was close to the strike zone. Altuve walked. Houston’s No. 2 batter, Michael Brantley, hit a sharp grounder through the middle. Anderson snagged it to start a double play at second base. Crisis averted.
Another fire immediately sprung up: Anderson walked the next hitter, Alex Bregman, with a curveball in the dirt for ball four. Then Anderson found his rhythm. He sat down the next nine batters in a row: three strikeouts, three weak fly balls, two grounders and a pop foul.
Anderson’s next hiccup happened with two outs in the fourth inning. Yordan Alvarez walked on five pitches. Ball four was another pitch in the dirt. Carlos Correa was up next. He worked a full count then took first base after Anderson’s inside fastball clipped his jersey.
Anderson ended the threat with another good defensive play. He tracked down Kyle Tucker’s slow-rolling ground ball in the wet grass, picked it up cleanly and threw to first for the out. Anderson was perfect in the fifth inning. Pinch hitter Marwin Gonzalez struck out looking for out three.
Then there was a strange site in the home dugout: Anderson accepting congratulations from teammates and coaches for a job well done. Why was he punching the clock already? It didn’t make sense when viewed at the game level or in the big picture.
Anderson had faced 18 batters. One of them, Martin Maldonado, hit the ball hard on a line. Otherwise, the Astros ponded Anderson’s balls in the first or hit them softy in the air. No. 3 batter Ozzie Albies led off the fifth inning for the Braves, so the pitcher’s spot in the lineup was still six slots away when Snitker decided to pull Anderson.
It’s true that the Astros had the top of the order due up in the sixth. At that point, their Nos. 1-3 hitters were 0-5 with three walks. In the aggregate, pitchers face a statistical penalty for going through the order a third time. In this game, the Astros couldn’t figure out Anderson when he threw strikes.
Then there are the circumstances of the series. Anderson and Fried are the only healthy starters left on the staff. Fried pitched Game 2 on Wednesday in Houston and gave up six runs. In Game 3, Anderson was having the best outing for a Braves starter since Fried held the Brewers scoreless over six innings with nine strikeouts Oct. 9.
Fried could have gone at least one more inning. Snitker decided that going to his ‘pen gave the Braves the best chance to win. They won, so all is well. Now we’ll see if the quick hook for Anderson has lasting effects for the rest of the weekend.
