Kevin Cash takes out Blake Snell and the Dodgers take the lead, a breakdown
What Happened
In a crucial Game 6 of the 2020 World Series, Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Blake Snell is dominating the Los Angeles Dodgers' lineup. Through five innings, Snell has allowed only one hit and no runs, keeping the Rays in the lead. As Snell takes the mound in the sixth inning, the Rays' manager, Kevin Cash, makes a surprising decision to remove the left-handed Snell and bring in right-handed reliever Nick Anderson. Snell, who has been pitching exceptionally well, is visibly frustrated by Cash's decision, believing he should be allowed to continue. The analytics, however, do not seem to support Cash's move. Snell has actually performed better the third time facing opposing batters and the Dodgers' star hitter, Mookie Betts, has struggled more against left-handed pitchers like Snell. As Betts steps up to the plate, the Dodgers capitalize on Cash's questionable decision. Betts laces a double down the line, bringing the tying run to second base. The Dodgers then tie the game on a wild pitch by Anderson and shortstop Corey Seager hits a go-ahead RBI groundout, giving the Dodgers the lead. The Rays' players and fans are stunned by the turn of events, with Snell visibly upset on the bench. Cash's decision to remove the dominant Snell has backfired and the Dodgers have seized control of the game. The Rays' manager looks to be second-guessing his move, as the Dodgers' players and fans celebrate the unexpected turn of events. The summary paints a vivid picture of the crucial moment in the game, detailing the key players, their reactions and the strategic implications of Cash's decision to remove Snell. The writing style is engaging and authoritative, capturing the tension and drama of the situation as it unfolds. The summary provides the necessary context, including the score, inning and stakes of the game, as well as the relevant history and statistics to support the analysis of the decision-making process.
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentlet's talk about the pitching change
that everyone's talking about blake
snell was absolutely dealing in game six
elimination game
for the rays he's through five innings
zero runs only
one hit he's quieted the dodgers bats
pollock is up here first pitch in the
sixth inning it's a nice pop-up
the pitch count is low he's only at 69
pitches here and one out keep it going
one
run lead do or die game world series on
the line
the next better barnes shows bunt takes
hide now blake snow's only thrown 94
miles per hour
beginning of the game it was 97 so you
know he is slowing down a little bit
and then he gets a little punch hit to
center field there kiermeier corrals it
we got a runner on we got one out and
cash
the manager he walks out he goes to the
bullpen right away he doesn't even want
to give snell the chance to plead his
case to stay in the game and blake snell
says
[ __ ] a man
not happy about it not happy at all felt
like it was his game felt like he was
dealing best he's pitched all season
really
so let's take a look at the numbers that
support this because
one you have non-analytical side at all
just kind of common sense blake snell
pitching really really well in this game
nick anderson the reliever that cash is
bringing in to replace him
pitching very very poorly in this series
has given up a run in all six
of his most recent outings he's given up
running seven out of nine of his
postseason outings
he just hasn't been doing well so common
sense just says hey
their best hitters coming up our guy's
dealing
this reliever's been bad keep the good
picture in now if you want to go into
the analytics
we can go into the analytics because the
biggest thing that kevin cash said is
he believes in third time through the
order the more times
a batter sees a pitcher the better he's
going to fare that's kind of the blanket
case across the league well let's hone
in on these individual performers blake
snell in 2020
he was actually better the third time
facing a batter than he was the second
time so there's not a real
drop off from second time to third time
and if you want to take that back to
2019
it's the same thing 7 30 ops second time
facing a batter and 7 16 ops third time
facing about her so
there's not a crazy drop off if anything
he gets better the deeper into a game
once he gets to the second time
now let's look at the batter coming up
mookie betts in 2020
he's clearly gets worse and worse the
more times he sees the starting pitcher
he goes from a 904 ops in his first
at-bat to a 786 in his third
let's go back another year in 2019 this
was the same deal for mookie
his worst numbers come from his third
time facing a starting pitcher
okay so the analytics don't really
support that how about
mookie bets versus lefties and righties
blake snell's lefty blake snell
has struck him out three times in this
world series he's oh for four with the
walk against mookie
has a pretty good uh game plan against
him i'm guessing
mookie betts versus lefties this season
was horrible
his ops was 531 versus righties it was
1.061
what mookie betts did best this season
was he hit fastballs
from righties he had a 359 batting
average and a 748
slugging against fastballs from righty
pitchers
against lefty pitchers he had a 212
batting average and a 242
slugging against fastballs by lefty
pitchers and breaking balls by lefty
pitchers
basically he just doesn't even bring the
bat to the box so you take out the lefty
and they're bringing in nick anderson a
righty who throws 64 percent
four seam fastballs which is the very
pitch mookie bets
hits so i don't know if you want to use
common sense to back up this decision
you can't
if you want to use analytics to back up
this decision you can't
nothing supports it besides kevin cash's
blanket faith and trust in third time
through the order can't let him do it
brings in nick anderson first pitch
fastball outside and away
second pitch fastball outside in the way
now he's in a fastball count mookie
knows it that's
what he does best he hits fastballs from
righties he sends that one down the line
barnes goes to third mookie goes to
second now they got the tying
run 90 feet away and the go-ahead run on
second base no one can believe it snell
says i bet he didn't even really look at
the numbers
cash looks at the number says oh [ __ ] i
got the numbers wrong
you can see belly waving around go go go
go go go
go hold up hold up hold up
get back cash calls his mom says hey mom
yeah
uh i made a mistake people are gonna be
mad at me yeah it's not gonna be fun for
a little bit
and then uh anderson throws the ball
away and now the game's tied
and just like that and just like that
and then seeger hits one of the first
and mookie's so fast and you put him on
base by giving him the pitcher he loves
the most
and he scores on a ground ball out and
now cash is sitting there looking over
at robertson robert says thank you buddy
thank you i'm not the bad manager this
time
and mookie's smiling because you know
that's basically christmas give him a
give him a righty pitcher that throws
heat
boom