Relievers get call to start in Game 6
Astros’ Peacock fourth P to finish, then start next day
HOUSTON — Brad Peacock started for the Houston Astros in Game 6 as they used a bullpen day to try to close out the American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees Saturday night at Minute Maid Park.
Peacock threw eight pitches Friday night in a scoreless eighth inning . He became the fourth pitcher in Major League Baseball history to finish a postseason game and then start the next day, and the first since 1924.
Manager AJ Hinch said he didn’t even consider starting ace Gerrit Cole on short rest and felt confident going with Peacock after his solid outing in Game 5.
“He’s really good at staying calm in what’s going to be probably one of the more intense games that we’ve had this season up to date,” Hinch said.
The Yankees also were using a bullpen day and started reliever Chad Green. The right-hander was 1-0 with a 3.18 ERA in five appearances this postseason. He previously pitched Thursday in Game 4 when he allowed two hits and two runs in one inning.
Peacock, who has been a starter and also pitched out of the bullpen in his career, was left off the ALDS roster after missing time late in the season with discomfort in his throwing shoulder. Friday was his first appearance since Sept. 29.
Hinch said he didn’t know how long Peacock would go. He had a 4.73 ERA in eight career postseason appearances with one start.
Peacock is one of the longest-tenured Astros after joining the team in 2013. The 31-year-old pitched in some big games for the Astros in their 2017 championship run. He made four appearances in the 2017 World Series, including pitching two scoreless innings in Houston’s Game 7 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“He’s as even-keeled as anybody we have,” Hinch said. “We’ve missed him a lot throughout the last month just in how he can be a weapon ... he’s pitched in a lot of different scenarios for us so this moment will not be too big for him. I don’t expect him to be very emotional.”
The teams rushed to Texas after the Yankees won Game 5 Friday night in New York, 4-1. The series continued Saturday night without a day off. With pitching plans disrupted Wednesday by a rainout, both teams planned on all-bullpen efforts in Game 6. But Gerrit Cole, 19-0 since May, looms as the Astros starter Sunday night if New York managed to extend the matchup to the seven-game limit. The Yankees likely will start right-hander Luis Severino in a Game 7.
Friday night was the 1,609th postseason game in major league history, and the first in which both teams scored in the first inning and neither scored the rest of the game.