Houston Astros reliever Cristian Javier entered Game 4 of the World Series on an impressive postseason streak. Javier was a virtual strike-throwing machine with 15 strikeouts across nine scoreless innings.
However, like all machines, a malfunction is lurking around the corner. It just so happened Javier turned in a lackluster performance at the worst time.
In the 7th inning, the Astros clung to a one-run lead. It was up to Javier to face Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson and pinch hitter Jorge Sole. Given his postseason success, it seemed like a perfunctory situation.