Having thrown only 81 pitches in six innings, Rays rookie Matt Moore has returned to the mound for the bottom of the seventh.
Moore, who pitched in only three major-league games before today, is just the third pitcher in major-league history to pitch in a postseason game with three or fewer games of major-league experience. And neither of the previous two — Ken Brett in 1967 and Charlie Leibrandt in 1979 — made a postseason start.
Which makes Moore unique.
After throwing 98 pitches, though, he’s probably finished.
He’s done plenty: seven shutout innings, two hits — both by Josh Hamilton — two walks and six strikeouts.
Obviously, we learned Wednesday night that anything can happen and it’s never over ‘til it’s over and that’s why they don’t have a clock and you have to just keep playing and maybe good things will happen and blah blah blah.
Realistically, Joe Maddon’s seriously unorthodox moves have given the Rays a big edge in this series already.