LOS ANGELES — Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell took his National League Championship Series chess match with Dodgers counterpart Dave Roberts to a new level in the early stages of Wednesday’s Game 5.
Counsell pulled starter Wade Miley after he walked Dodgers leadoff man Cody Bellinger on five pitches. Miley is a lefty, as is Bellinger, but most of Los Angeles’ lineup was composed of right-handed hitters.
Right-hander Brandon Woodruff replaced Miley.
The short start for Miley, who did not appear injured, was the plan all along, according to Fox Sports. He will start Game 6 in Milwaukee on Friday.
But for Game 5, the onus was on Roberts to decide whether to ride out his righty-heavy lineup for a few innings or run the risk of emptying his bench too early.
The move was mildly surprising for a couple of reasons.
Miley threw 5⅔ scoreless innings in Game 2, providing much-needed length for a team that leans heavily on its bullpen.
The Brewers’ bullpen also threw 11⅔ innings in a five-hour, 2-1 loss to the Dodgers in 13 innings Tuesday night. While that was just two innings shy of the postseason record, it did set the mark for the longest outing by a bullpen in a loss.
The best-of-seven series is tied at two games apiece.
Ironically, Counsell’s bold move might have been dictated by the events of Game 4, when Brewers starter Gio Gonzalez was forced to leave in the second inning with a high ankle sprain.
Under MLB rules, the Brewers were allowed to replace Gonzalez on their NCLS roster, and they did so with starter Zach Davies. The well-rested Davies can help fill the innings gap left by Miley’s short stint.
Miley is the second pitcher in postseason history to start a game and face only one batter. The other was Johnny Cueto, who struck out the only batter he faced in Game 1 of the 2012 NL Division Series before leaving with back spasms.