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twinsfan -> RE: MLB General Information PT 4 (5/22/2018 1:10:59 PM)
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Tampa Bay Rays closer Sergio Romo struck out the side against the Angels in his lone inning of action on Saturday, but what made it unique is that for the first time in his long and successful career, Romo actually started the game. The idea behind the novelty was a strange one, at least by conventional wisdom, but it made a lot of practical sense—the Angels' first three batters are righties, so it gave Romo a match-up advantage, and it protected their starting pitcher, a lefty, from facing those three batters more than twice in the game. Here's how it went:
In short, it worked. Romo did his thing, Yarbrough pitched 6.1 quality innings, and the Rays won 5-3. They tried it again Sunday, and again Romo pitched a scoreless first inning.
This is the kind of thing that seems crazy until you actually do it, and with traditional thought in baseball dying a rapid death with the advent of advanced statistics, we could be looking at the start of a trend that spreads like wildfire. The first inning is just as important as the ninth, and if you can guarantee that your best pitcher will face the best part of the opponent's lineup, it makes perfect sense to turn a great closer into a great opener.
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