Cade Smith trotted out of the Cleveland Guardians‘ bullpen on Sunday night with four outs to get.
That’s not unusual for Cleveland’s closer in the playoffs, but it wasn’t a normal circumstance. The Guardians were down 3-1 at the time he entered.
It threatens to be a big mistake in ALCS Game 5 for the Guardians.
For those keeping count at home: Smith threw 22 pitches, and he got bailed out by a jumping catch by Steven Kwan at the centerfield fence. Remember all those moments later in this series.
Why Cade Smith Decision Might Be a Mistake
The problem here is that the rainout on Friday night means that this is the second of four consecutive days with a game to close out this series.
Game 5 is Sunday night. Game 6 is Monday night in Tampa Bay. And if Game 7 is necessary, it’ll be Tuesday night in Tampa.
That creates a really tough situation for bullpens, including for Smith.
The Guardians trailed when he entered, and so you have to somewhat assume that it’s going to be a Cleveland loss. That would then mean they have to win both their games on the road to come back and win the series.
And if that’s the case, they’ll need all the outs they can possibly get out of Smith.
If he uses up a bunch of pitches on Sunday night, it makes it tougher for him to be at full throttle in two must-win games for the Guardians.
If the Guardians were to come back, it might look smarter. But if they don’t pull off a rally, then the Smith usage could backfire in future games.
A Balancing Act
The reality is that it was tough for the Guardians right from the start because starting pitcher Parker Messick went just two innings. From that point on, the bullpen was going to be used heavily no matter what.
But the Smith usage is the one that could’ve been considered more. How fresh do you want him for potential Games 6 and 7?
Apparently, the Guardians aren’t concerned about Smith pitching three days in a row in huge-leverage spots.
If the Guardians made the World Series, they’d get two days off before the action began Friday, so that at least would give all the pitchers the chance to rest.
Before that, though, Smith will have worked really hard. It’s tough to imagine the Guardians winning those two games at Tropicana Field, if they have to, without Smith on the mound at some point in both of them.
And so it’ll be interesting to look back by Monday and maybe Tuesday night and see if the Guardians regret using Smith on Sunday night.
But hey — they were within two runs, and so they didn’t give up. They played for the comeback. It was valiant. It just might backfire.
Guardians’ Cade Smith Decision Might Be a Mistake