Fernando Rodney had been reliable for the Washington Nationals this postseason, but that all came to an end during Game 4 of the World Series on Saturday night.
A day after getting Alex Bregman to ground out with the bases loaded to end an inning, Rodney was met with a similar situation. Rodney entered the 7th inning of Game 4 on Saturday with runners on first and second and one out. He allowed a single and then a grand slam to Bregman to make it 8-1 Houston, which was the final score.
As if allowing the grand slam weren’t enough, Rodney then walked two more before getting an out and walked a third batter to leave the bases loaded before being replaced.
Nationals manager Davey Martinez was asked about pitching Rodney in that spot considering the poor result, and Martinez defended it, saying he liked Rodney in that spot.
Martinez says it would have been different if Nats had the lead. But he wanted to make sure Hudson/Doolittle were available to go extended time tomorrow if the Nats need to protect a lead.
— michael phillips (@michaelpRTD) October 27, 2019
It’s hard to disagree with Martinez. He said he wanted to save some of his other bullpen arms in case they have a lead in Game 5. Plus, Rodney hadn’t allowed a run in his five previous appearances this postseason.
Maybe the 42-year-old was barely getting by and finally got burned, but given his success in the playoffs it was worth another shot to see whether he could conjure up some more magic.
