In the 12th inning of Game 4 of the World Series, Milwaukee Brewers rookie Cooper Pratt delivered a home run that seemed destined to be played on replay for the rest of time in Milwaukee, but the Tampa Bay Rays scored two runs off Shane Drohan to walk it off in the bottom of the inning.
Both teams taxed their bullpens in Game 4, and with a title on the line, the Brewers gave the ball to Drohan. To that point, in what was a bullpen game, the Brewers had used Dustin May, JoJo Romero, Abner Uribe, DL Hall, Trevor Megill, Aaron Ashby and Antonio Senzatela. The only pitchers available were Kyle Harrison, Brandon Woodruff, Jacob Misiorowski, Logan Henderson and Robert Gasser.
Gasser started Game 3, Woodruff closed out Game 3 and Harrison has not pitched in October. None of them were real options, but with a title on the line, the Brewers did not go to their Cy Young Award frontrunner.
Drohan had made one outing all postseason, as an opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and he was not great. To give him the ball in the 12th inning was certainly puzzling, especially when they could have given the ball to Misiorowski.
To be fair, Drohan came in with a man on base after Joey Ortiz made an error that allowed Junior Caminero to reach base to start the inning. Drohan gave up some ground balls that found holes, and a high chopper over Jake Bauers with the bases loaded ended the game.
While going to Misiorowski seems like the right move, the Brewers had one eye on the future in a close game that they used most of their arms in. If they went to Misiorowski and the Rays still won, he would have needed to start Game 5 on Wednesday after throwing in Game 4.
However, it seems like Pat Murphy did not trust his ace's ability to get the job done in the 12th on three days of rest. If Misiorowski comes in and gets three outs, there is no Game 5 to plan for. It seems like Murphy was more concerned with making sure the team had a plan for Game 5 than winning Game 4.
It's easy to criticize decisions after the fact, and Murphy is a two-time Manager of the Year Award winner. The reality is, the Brewers now have Misiorowski lined up in a closeout game while the Rays may have to resort to pitching madness.