An amazing thing happened in the last few World Series games. Boston manager Alex Cora and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts – handpicked by devoted sabermetrically inclined front offices – surprised many by flouting a misguided analytic trend.
It happened in Games 3, 4, and 5 when both managers tossed the “third-time through a lineup” rule out the window to let their starting pitchers go deeper into games than has been typical lately. In the Dodgers’ Game 3 win, Roberts stayed with Walker Buehler for 108 pitches and a full seven innings. Roberts let Rich Hill face 24 hitters over 6.