Saturday night’s game between the Yankees and Astros will feature something that hasn’t been done since Babe Ruth wore pinstripes: A pitcher finishing one postseason game, and then starting the next with no rest in between.
Houston Astros pitcher Brad Peacock will become the fourth pitcher in MLB history to do so — and the first in 96 years — when he takes the Minute Maid Park mound trying to eliminate the Yankees in Game 6 of the ALCS, according to ESPN.
The last to do so before Saturday was Firpo Marberry, who in 1924 struck out one batter to save Game 2 of the World Series for the Washington Senators before struggling in three innings as his team lost the next day. The Senators beat the New York Giants in seven games to win the title that year, while the Great Bambino hit 46 home runs for the Yankees.
Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown (Cubs, 1910) and Doc White (White Sox, 1906) are the only others in the exclusive club, with both feats coming in the World Series as well.
The 31-year-old Peacock threw an inning of relief in Friday’s loss in The Bronx, retiring the Yankees in order on just eight pitches. Friday marked his first postseason appearance this season after a nerve issue in his neck forced him to miss the ALDS. Peacock’s longest outing since his latest return from his shoulder issue was only 1 1/3 innings. Game 6 will be his first time pitching on back-to-back days since last year.
Peacock, who was dominant for Houston en route to their 2017 title, will battle the Yankees’ Chad Green in the bullpen game — the trendy strategy that sees openers pitch one-to-two innings before handing the ball off to relievers. The Yankees are 11-4 this season when Green opens games.