Brandon Morrow tied a very difficult record in 2017. He became just the second pitcher to appear in all seven games of a Fall Classic. Darold Knowles is the only of hurler to do so.
Morrow, pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers, replaced some chap named Clayton Kershaw in the opening tilt. Facing the Houston Astros at Dodger Stadium, it was 3-1 for the home team, but only after seven. Could Morrow help Kershaw win his first Fall Classic game?
Of course! Using just 10 pitches, Brandon got 'em 1-2-3 in the top of the 8th. When Kenley Jensen got the save in the 9th, Brandon got a hold to his name. More importantly, Los Angeles held serve at home.
Morrow pitched game two, gave up a run, and the Dodgers lost the game in eleven innings. When the Fall Classic moved to Houston, Morrow's team lost again, 5-3, despite Brandon holding the fort in bottom of the sixth. Los Angeles was within two runs at the time. But it happened to be that neither team scored again, as the score was the same as the final result, 5-3.
Good thing the Dodgers won game four, otherwise it would have been bad. Down 3-1 going into game 5? Forget it. Brandon Morrow was the first man out of the Dodgers' bullpen in game four, retiring all four men to face him in the sixth and seventh inning. He left with the score knotted 1-1. But when the dust had settled after nine innings, it was 6-2, Los Angeles.
Houston bounced back again, winning game five in extras, 13-12. Morrow was bad. He faced five batters. Two of them hit home runs. All of them got on base. All told, four runs scored off him. Los Angeles was heading home needing to win game six and game seven.
The Dodgers did win game six, 3-1. Morrow found himself on the hill after relieving starter Rich Hill in the top of the fifth with two away. He pitched 1 1/3 innings, allowing a hit, but no runs. The home team had pulled it out to force a game seven.
Alas, all that hard work and the deciding game was decided early. Houston scored two in the top of the first and three in the top of the second. It was Brandon Morrow that retired Alex Bregman to end the second inning, but that was the only batter he faced. The rest of Los Angeles' bullpen held Houston at bay the rest of the way, permitting just two hits, but the damage was done. The home team could only touch home once the entire game, so those grand efforts were wasted.
Was Morrow's? Well, the Dodgers fought hard, holding the Astros to just five hits in game seven, but the pitchers can only do half the work. In the three games they won, Los Angeles scored three, six, and three runs, so it was never easy. The pitchers certainly had a lot of pressure on them. And Morrow's arm must have been a tad tired after all that work.
References
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 4 Apr. 2018 .
Morrow, pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers, replaced some chap named Clayton Kershaw in the opening tilt. Facing the Houston Astros at Dodger Stadium, it was 3-1 for the home team, but only after seven. Could Morrow help Kershaw win his first Fall Classic game?
Of course! Using just 10 pitches, Brandon got 'em 1-2-3 in the top of the 8th. When Kenley Jensen got the save in the 9th, Brandon got a hold to his name. More importantly, Los Angeles held serve at home.
Morrow pitched game two, gave up a run, and the Dodgers lost the game in eleven innings. When the Fall Classic moved to Houston, Morrow's team lost again, 5-3, despite Brandon holding the fort in bottom of the sixth. Los Angeles was within two runs at the time. But it happened to be that neither team scored again, as the score was the same as the final result, 5-3.
Good thing the Dodgers won game four, otherwise it would have been bad. Down 3-1 going into game 5? Forget it. Brandon Morrow was the first man out of the Dodgers' bullpen in game four, retiring all four men to face him in the sixth and seventh inning. He left with the score knotted 1-1. But when the dust had settled after nine innings, it was 6-2, Los Angeles.
Houston bounced back again, winning game five in extras, 13-12. Morrow was bad. He faced five batters. Two of them hit home runs. All of them got on base. All told, four runs scored off him. Los Angeles was heading home needing to win game six and game seven.
The Dodgers did win game six, 3-1. Morrow found himself on the hill after relieving starter Rich Hill in the top of the fifth with two away. He pitched 1 1/3 innings, allowing a hit, but no runs. The home team had pulled it out to force a game seven.
Alas, all that hard work and the deciding game was decided early. Houston scored two in the top of the first and three in the top of the second. It was Brandon Morrow that retired Alex Bregman to end the second inning, but that was the only batter he faced. The rest of Los Angeles' bullpen held Houston at bay the rest of the way, permitting just two hits, but the damage was done. The home team could only touch home once the entire game, so those grand efforts were wasted.
Was Morrow's? Well, the Dodgers fought hard, holding the Astros to just five hits in game seven, but the pitchers can only do half the work. In the three games they won, Los Angeles scored three, six, and three runs, so it was never easy. The pitchers certainly had a lot of pressure on them. And Morrow's arm must have been a tad tired after all that work.
References
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 4 Apr. 2018 .
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