It's Time for Pat Murphy to Ease Off Abner Uribe

For the past two seasons, Abner Uribe has been Pat Murphy's iron man. Uribe pitched 75 times last regular season, and while he pitched only 61 games this year (because he spent 20 days on the injured list with a forearm strain), he pitched more often on a rate basis. It's no surprise, then, that Murphy has floored the gas pedal with Uribe this postseason, pitching him in all seven of the Brewers' October games so far. On the surface, it worked through the first six games, as Uribe tossed six scoreless innings.

Results can be deceptive in a small sample, though. Uribe pitched poorly in all four of his Division Series outings; he threw just 37.9% of his pitches in the strike zone; issued two walks and a hit-by-pitch against just one strikeout; and nearly allowed a game-tying home run in Game 4 that Garrett Mitchell robbed. His 9.22 xERA and 6.33 SIERA described his performance more accurately than his 3 ⅔ scoreless innings. Uribe's slider command was particularly non-competitive throughout the series.

Uribe turned the page with two dominant outings to start the NLCS, but the chickens came home to roost in Game 3. He looked like his NLDS self, but the Dodgers didn't bail him out with bad chases and poorly placed contact, as the Padres (and Lady Luck) did. Handed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the sixth, Uribe walked the bases loaded with one out, then left a first-pitch sinker down the middle that Will Smith roped for a go-ahead double.

Murphy and the Brewers' pitching coaches managed the inning poorly. It was an awkward lineup pocket for Uribe. If a runner reached, the Dodgers had left-handers Kyle Tucker and Shohei Ohtani due up, and Max Muncy was also likely to pinch-hit. The Brewers had southpaw DL Hall and righty Chad Patrick warming in the bullpen, but they stuck with the erratic Uribe for Ohtani and Smith. After the game, Murphy told reporters that he wanted the Uribe vs. Smith matchup, but the way the inning unfolded, that wasn't an acceptable rationale.

Using Uribe at some point wasn't unreasonable. Because of team off days between games and series, he's pitched seven times in the last 12 days. That's a heavy but manageable workload in a small sample. He can't continue at that rate for the rest of the postseason, though. Few relievers can stay sharp while pitching more often than not, and Uribe already hasn't been sharp.

If they have a lead in Game 4, Murphy and the Brewers should go full throttle to finish an NLCS sweep. Winning in four games would give them a full week off before Game 1 of the World Series to reset and stack their cards. Uribe should be the one pitcher off-limits. With a 3-0 series lead, he shouldn't pitch again in Los Angeles. Given his wildness, they should watch closely when he does return to action.

The postseason is the time to push the envelope with workloads. When few future games are guaranteed, saving players for future games isn't worth it. There should still be limits in non-elimination games, though. Murphy pushed his iron man too hard on Wednesday, and he's about to do the same with his cumulative workload—unless he throttles back and learns to trust another pitcher or two in his relief corps.

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