Two innings of Liam Hendriks can partially patch White Sox’s eighth-inning issues

Aug 16, 2021; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago White Sox relief pitcher Liam Hendriks (31) celebrates after delivering a final out against the Oakland Athletics during the ninth inning at Guaranteed Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

The last time Liam Hendriks pitched in the ALDS, only one game had a chance of getting to him. And Bob Melvin made sure that nobody else could take it away.

The Oakland Athletics dropped the first two games of their five-games series with Houston last October by convincing margins. They blew leads of 3-0 and 4-3 in Game 1, with a sixth-inning implosion sealing the deal of a 10-5 loss. Game 2 reached its final score of 5-2 by the middle of the fifth inning.

The A’s were on the ropes in Game 3, after a five-run fifth off Jesus Luzardo and Yusmeiro Petit gave Houston a 7-4 lead. But when a three-run homer by Chad Pinder in the top of the seventh tied the game just in time for “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” Melvin left nothing to chance. Closers might not even have their shoes on at the point in the game where Hendriks came in to pitch, starting the seventh with the game tied at 3. He pitched the seventh, and when the A’s took the lead in the top of the eighth, Hendriks handled the eighth and ninth. He struck out four over three scoreless innings, allowing just one hit. He needed just 37 pitches.

Melvin was right to seize the day. In Game 4, the A’s blew a 3-0 lead to Houston with a five-run bottom of the fourth, and Hendriks was once again rendered irrelevant. If Melvin waited for something resembling a typical save situation, Hendriks might have sat the whole series.

This sequence has come to mind when mulling Craig Kimbrel’s role for the postseason, and the eighth-inning alternatives. It’s taken up a lot of oxygen, and for a number of reasons. Beyond the general important of high-leverage relief work, there’s the acquisition cost, his option status for next year and the fact that there’s little else for the team to address.

It’s all legit, and at some point, the White Sox will probably have to see what he has. But since the postseason starts with the shortest of the series and therefore the smallest margin for error, I think the White Sox should start by procrastinating and using Hendriks for two innings instead.

* * * * * * * * *

Ever since Hendriks blew the save in the Field of Dreams Game, he’s been damn near perfect. He’s allowed just one run over 21 innings, limiting opponents to 10 singles and a walk while striking out 31. He’s 12-for-12 in save opportunities, and he picked up a win with a scoreless 10th against the Tampa Bay Rays.

He earned the American League Reliever of the Month Award for his work in September, his second such honor this year, although he should probably share this one with his wife.

Kimbrel hasn’t done as much as the White Sox have hoped since he crossed town, but he’s very much defined what makes Hendriks special. Of the 45 hits Hendriks has allowed, 30 are singles. He has only walked seven batters over 71 innings, with just one plunking. He’s also thrown just one wild pitch, which is a helpful byproduct of a 70-percent fastball rate. Every base is earned, which is why baserunners are testing him more than usual once they reach. (It hasn’t worked.)

By comparison, Kimbrel gets on these jags of generosity where one base gets you two more. Not only will he accept competitors’ coupons, he’ll sometimes let you write your own.

PitcherIPBFXBHBBHBPWP
Hendriks7126710711
Kimbrel59.2235122338

So let’s think about a potential situation for Thursday where the White Sox head into the eighth inning of Game 1 with a 3-2 lead an ability to flip home-field advantage. Why not cut out the middle man and go with Hendriks?

One counterpoint is Game 2 of last year’s Wild Card Series, where Melvin broke the emergency glass for Hendriks before the margin approached a save situation, and the White Sox almost foiled the move. He entered in the eighth inning with a runner on first and a 5-0 lead, but two batters into his appearance, Yasmani Grandal narrowed it to 5-2 with a two-run homer.

He also couldn’t close the door in the ninth. After striking out Adam Engel and Jarrod Dyson to open the inning, he gave up singles to Nick Madrigal and Tim Anderson before a seven-pitch walk to Yoán Moncada loaded the bases. With Hendriks at 49 pitches, Melvin called for Jake Diekman, who walked Grandal for another run before getting José Abreu to ground out to end the game.

Unfortunately for the White Sox, it had no lasting effects. Hendriks took the mound the very next day and struck out the side to close out the series.

* * * * * * * * *

Fortunately for the White Sox … it had no lasting effects. They have one of baseball’s best closers at peak form as the start of the postseason. And in a five-game series, I think you go to that pitcher sooner than normal.

Should the Sox advance to the ALCS, there will be opportunities to get the other setup guys involved. I don’t think you want to go to Hendriks two innings after two innings after two innings over the course of seven-game series. We’ve seen that have diminishing returns for equally talented relievers in previous postseasons, and the Sox should trust an Aaron Bummer or a Ryan Tepera in similar situations before the ninth inning. I don’t see a problem with testing Kimbrel at least once either.

But for the first win of October, I think you try to establish Hendriks as a multi-inning presence if the situation affords the opportunity. Perhaps the biggest risk is that it’s two innings where Hendriks could give up a homer, which lets his biggest flaw dangle there a little.

I’d be more concerned if he’d allowed a homer more recently than the first half of August. Besides, Hendriks’ homer problems aren’t the result of lengthy outings. He’s surrendered nine of his 11 homers in traditional appearances. In the 10 games he was tasked with recording more than three outs, Hendriks’ stats look like Hendriks’ stats — 13⅓ IP, 9 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 29 K, 2 HR — with half of the runs and homers coming in his first very appearance of the season.

I just don’t see any reason to avoid a fresh Hendriks for two innings, especially when it guarantees that you put the game in his hands at least once this October. When it comes to first-guessing, I try to work backward from the less optimal outcome and wonder how much I might kick myself for the choices in between. If Kimbrel’s wildness or Bummer’s dark cloud gets in the way of a Hendriks save, I’m going to wonder why the game didn’t get to the best reliever sooner. If Hendriks blows the save in either inning, I don’t think I could pretend that I’d have wanted to see anybody else.

If the Sox last long enough, there will be other high-leverage opportunities to distribute to the other qualified arms. A heavy dose of Hendriks early seems like the best way to ensure more of these games.

(Photo by Kamil Krzaczynski/USA TODAY Sports)

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LamarHoyt_oncrack

Hope they have a decision to make early in the series as to who to go to in the 8th, which means they have a lead to protect.

mikeschach

Very well reasoned. Grab that road win if the opportunity is there.
And while one should always be careful what one wishes for, a Sox-Sox series would sure be nice.
One last item: who gets the opener? I vote Giolito.

LamarHoyt_oncrack

A sox-sox series would be ideal. Anything is possible, but I don’t think Boston can beat us in a 7 game series. I don’t think they are likely to beat Tampa in a 5 gamer either.

Gotta go with Giolito. Better Aug/Sept numbers, much better numbers vs Astros including a complete game against them this year, plus Lynn has a knee thing which has probably affected his performance. No-brainer.

joe blow

I’d pick Gio but it doesn’t matter that much. If there is a game 5 on Wednesday, whoever starts game 1 and 2 are both available on full rest.

Willardmarshall

You’re even more persuasive than usual….

Foulkelore

I’m worried, or maybe curious is a better word, about two things related to bullpen usage. 1.) How they will employ Hendriks (which you’ve covered nicely here), hoping he’s not only used in traditional save scenarios. 2.) If game leverage will be properly increased. What I mean by this is hoping that if they are losing by 1-2 runs, we’re not seeing the bottom pitchers on the roster. This is how the regular season was managed, which is mostly fine, because the regular season has stretches of 2+ weeks with no days off. However, there were times when down just 1 run in the 7th/8th, with some of the better pitchers rested (or not getting enough work), that guys like Foster or Wright were trotted out. There are so many off days during the playoffs. I want to see them use their best bullpen arms, unless the game is completely out-of-hand either way.

Last edited 2 years ago by Foulkelore
LamarHoyt_oncrack

Great point about the off days. That’s why I’m not worried about their bullpen being exhausted, they have all had a ton of rest leading up to game 1 and have off days after games 2 and 4. Makes Jim’s point about using Liam for 2 innings first opportunity even stronger.

Plus I think their starting pitching will be quite good, especially Giolito. The only doubt I have is whether their offense will show up, that was the most inconsistent aspect of this team in the 2nd half.

To Err is Herrmann

Craig Kimbrel needs a psychologist like Dorfman or Ravizza, or a shaman. Yes, his fastball velocity is down, but half of the game is 90 percent mental. Baseball is very much a mental game. Something is wrong with him,

joewho112

If you want Tony to take an email seriously, you’ll have to end it by telling him to forward it to 10 friends.

texag10

Add like 10 “FW:”s to the subject line to make it seem like its been passed around a lot already.