While managing the Kansas City Royals to consecutive World Series trips in 2014 and 2015, Ned Yost seemed to have discovered the perfect October blueprint: Have your starters scratch out five or six innings and then turn the game over to three or four dominating relief pitchers.
In 2014, it was Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and Greg Holland. In 2015, it was Luke Hochevar, Ryan Madson, Herrera and Davis. All were right-handed, which made Yost's job even easier. He didn't have to worry about matchups, where the opposing team was in the order, or wait for his starter to get into trouble. The Royals went 22-9 over the two postseasons, including a title in 2015, and those five relievers combined to go 9-0 with 11 saves and a 1.18 ERA. The Royals' starters had a 4.56 ERA.
With relievers impacting the game more than ever and the days of Bob Gibson and Sandy Koufax throwing complete games in the World Series long in the past, this was going to be the formula for the future. After all, it was certainly easier in theory to find three or four superior relievers than four starters who could go deep into a game through multiple playoff series.
