Settled on a postseason starting rotation that was comprised of Clayton Kershaw, Rich Hill, Yu Darvish and Alex Wood, Kenta Maeda was bumped into the bullpen. Not as a long relief option, but more of a right-handed specialist.
In 134.1 innings during the regular season (25 starts), Maeda posted a 4.22 ERA, 4.07 FIP and 1.15 WHIP with 140 strikeouts to 34 walks. As the season was winding to a close, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the club viewed Maeda as a more-than-viable option to work as a reliever.
The Dodgers bullpen amassed a scoreless streak of 28 innings in the postseason, which set an MLB record. Maeda very much had a hand in that, with the bulk of his opportunities coming against prominent right-handed batters.
Though pitching out of the bullpen is not what he’s accustomed to, Maeda recently said he appreciates being able to contribute in any capacity during the postseason, per Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times:
“It’s the postseason,” Maeda said. “I have strong feelings about wanting to play a part in helping the team win. As a player, I’m really happy they let me pitch and contribute in a game we won.”
Maeda appeared in four games out of the bullpen during the season, where he allowed two runs and seven hits in eight innings pitched — amounting to a 2.25 ERA and 1.00 WHIP.
Thus far in the postseason, he’s 2-0 with a 0.93 ERA, with 10 strikeouts and held opponents to a .121/.171/.212 batting line. He faced 18 batters and completed six innings before yielding a baserunner — on a single in Game 2 of the World Series.
Maeda’s first run allowed came in Game 5 when he inherited two baserunners and surrendered a home run to Jose Altuve.
Since joining the bullpen, Maeda’s fastball has seen a boost in velocity. With a lighter workload, his pitches noticeably have more bite to them as well. He presumably will be a key factor for the Dodgers if they’re to come from behind and win the World Series.
