Monday, October 31, 2016

Andrew Miller breaks postseason strikeout record for a reliever

Cleveland Indians reliever Andrew Miller is on the verge of postseason immortality. With Cleveland just one win away from a World Series title, Miller is quickly approaching “never have to buy another drink in this town again territory.”
The 31-year-old reliever has been one of the, if not the, biggest reason Cleveland finds itself in this position. Game after game, Miller comes in and completely baffles opposing hitters for an inning or two. He never gets tired. His stuff is always sharp. And no one can hit him.
That dominance continued Saturday in Game 4 of the World Series. Miller pitched two more innings during Cleveland’s 7-2 win against the Chicago Cubs. He struck out two during the effort.
With the outing, Miller set the record for most strikeouts by a reliever in a single postseason.
That surpasses Francisco Rodriguez’s 28 strikeouts during the Los Angeles Angels’ postseason run back in 2002. Miller managed to break the record despite throwing one fewer inning than Rodriguez. Miller reached the milestone in the eighth inning. With one out, he struck out Anthony Rizzo to tie Rodriguez’s mark, and then surpassed it by striking out Ben Zobrist on five pitches to end the frame.
The scary thing is, Miller can still add to his record. While he’s pitched in two straight games, there’s not really any doubt Miller will make himself available for Game 5 against the Cubs. And if Chicago finds a way to extend the series, that just gives Miller more opportunities to make a mockery of Rodriguez’s mark.
In fairness, it wasn’t tough to see this coming. It became apparent pretty early on that Miller had reached another level this postseason. Just two games in the American League Championship Series against the Toronto Blue Jays, he was already putting up insane stats. Since then, he’s only added to those eye-popping numbers.
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Saturday’s record-setting outing didn’t come without a small bump in the road, though. Miller lost his incredible postseason scoreless streak in the eighth inning on a Dexter Fowler solo home run. It was the first time Miller looked human during the playoffs. He quickly decided that wasn’t for him, and returned to dominance, picking up his record-tying and record-breaking strikeouts later in the inning.
Prior to Fowler’s home run, Miller had thrown 24 1/3 scoreless innings in his postseason career. Over those 24 1/3 innings, Miller had given up just eight hits and five walks. He struck out 37 batters. That performance nearly set another record.
Following Fowler’s solo shot in the eighth, Miller now has a 0.36 ERA over a total of 25 1/3 postseason innings.
With Cleveland on the verge of a World Series championship, Miller could be the first reliever since 1999 to win the World Series MVP award. New York Yankees legend Mariano Rivera was the last relief pitcher to accomplish that feat.
Considering this has been the postseason of the reliever, that would be a fitting end for Miller. No player has better personified the 2016 playoffs like Miller. No player has been more dominant and has pitched more often. Miller’s performance has already earned him a spot in the history books. With one more win, it becomes the stuff of legends.
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