Burnes’ arm not ready on three days’ rest
ATLANTA – Shortly after word came Tuesday morning that Atlanta was starting Charlie Morton on short rest in Game 4 of the National League Division Series, folks on social media began asking why the Milwaukee Brewers weren't doing likewise with Corbin Burnes, their Game 1 starter.
After all, it was the Brewers facing elimination, not the Braves. Why wouldn't they pull out all the stops as well?
Brewers manager Craig Counsell addressed that decision before the game at Truist Park, explaining why he went with left-hander Eric Lauer instead.
“Corbin came to us, basically, after he pitched and we had a conversation about it. He was interested in doing it (pitching on short rest),” Counsell said. “And I said, ‘Well, we have to make sure you're physically able to do it.' And, as the days went on, he's just not physically ready to do it.
“He wanted to do it, but we had to make sure he was physically ready to do it. And he's just not ready to do it.”
During the team's pre-game workout, Burnes confirmed that it was a mutual decision not to pitch him on short rest.
“The last couple days, I just didn't recover the way that I wanted to, so it was a matter of do I want to go out there at 80-85% or have Lauer go out there fullgo and fully-rested,” Burnes said. “It came down to the decision that they felt better with Lauer being 100% and the bullpen fully rested and then me being 100% ready for (a potential) Game 5.
“We wanted the body to be 100% recovered. I think having a guy who hasn't pitched in 10 days being fully recovered with a fresh arm and ready to go is an easy decision.”
As for how the 37-year-old Morton could be ready to pitch on short rest and not the 26-year-old Burnes, the two rotations were on different schedules. The Braves used a five-man rotation, with pitchers getting four days rest, while the Brewers went with a six-man rotation, with five days rest, as a safeguard in returning to a 162-game schedule after the pandemic-shortened, 60-game season in 2020.
“For me, it was going to be from five or six days' rest to three days rest,” Burnes said. “If it would have been four days rest, a day earlier, I would have been 100% ready to go. Being on five or six days' rest most of the year and then trying to come back two days quicker was going to be too much.”
Lauer was the only member of the rotation on the NLDS roster who had yet to pitch, so rest was not a limiting factor. He also was one of the Brewers' best pitchers after the all-star break (4-1, 2.60 ERA in 12 games). Overall, he was 7-5 with a 3.19 ERA in 24 games (20 starts).
A stinger for Cain
Lorenzo Cain was in the lineup, batting eighth and playing center field for the Brewers per usual, but he divulged during batting practice that he had suffered a “stinger” to his neck after colliding with the outfield wall while attempting to make a catch in Game 3.
He was going through his pre-game progression when he stopped briefly to chat, but clearly was not 100% physically.
“It locked up this morning,” he said. “I've taken every possible (step) to get ready. They think it's a stinger. I've never had one before. I have pain going from my neck all the way down to my shoulder.”
Ultimately, Cain was able to go, and he was tested quickly on a throw to third after Dansby Swanson tagged and advanced on a fly ball by Freddie Freeman.
Cain entered Game 4 hitting .111 (1 for 9) with a walk in the series but collected his second hit with a second-inning single off Charlie Morton and then stole second before being stranded.
There was more news about an hour before the game when it was announced that Braves right fielder and leadoff hitter Jorge Soler had tested positive for COVID-19 and was out for the remainder of the NLDS.
Misplaced blame?
The Milwaukee Brewers' offense was sputtering long before they got to the NLDS and found life miserable against Atlanta's starting pitchers.
But it was worth asking if they regretted focusing mostly on rest instead of results over the final week of the regular season after clinching the NL Central crown. The Brewers went 1-5 on a final trip to St. Louis and Los Angeles with players going in and out of the lineup.
Asked if that plan worked against the Brewers in getting shut out twice in the first three games of the NLDS while scoring only two runs, Willy Adames said, “No, I wouldn't think so. We were talking about that today on the bus. This is the best pitching I've ever seen so far in my short career. Like, the guys haven't missed a lot of pitches. They might have missed five pitches the entire series.
“You've got to give credit to them because they've been doing an unbelievable job on the mound. Everybody has executed the pitches, the locations, everything. And you've got to give credit to them when they deserve it.”
Adames fared better than the rest of his teammates over the first three games with four hits in 12 at-bats. Only three other players had as many as two hits, Eduardo Escobar, Luis Urías and Christian Yelich.
Leadoff hitter Kolten Wong, who often sets the pace for the offense, was 1 for 12 in the first three games. And cleanup hitter Avisaíl García had mostly awful at-bats, going 1 for 11 with seven strikeouts.
Counsell gave García plenty of days off down the stretch while he was dealing with lower back stiffness and other aches and pains but didn't think that's why the top run producer on the club struggled so badly in the first three games of the NLDS.
“Look, hitters go through ups and downs during a season when they're playing a lot, when they're not playing,” Counsell said. “Rest has been good for Avi a lot this year.
“There's no necessary explanation why you are or aren't (getting hits).”
Over those first three games, the Brewers batted .176 (16 for 91) with two runs scored, .484 OPS, six walks and 33 strikeouts. With runners in scoring position, they were 0 for 16.