Ranking the 6 poor playoff performances by aces
Star pitchers - save for Madison Bumgarner, Noah Syndergaard, and Jon Lester - haven't had it easy early on this postseason.
Some of the game's best and highest-paid hurlers simply haven't shown up, with career-worst playoff starts and more October disappointments; as a result, two teams have their backs pushed firmly against the wall.
Let's take a look back and rank the six worst performances from star pitchers over the first two days of division series action.
6. Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers
| IP | R | ER | H | HR | BB | K | PC | Gm. Sc. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 101 | 45 |
This wasn't an "awful" performance, but by Kershaw's standards it certainly wasn't a great outing. The best pitcher in baseball surpassed the 100-pitch mark for the first time this year, but otherwise was decidedly pedestrian, as evidenced by his line. Fortunately for Kershaw, his offense was able to help him out and grab him a win after he labored through five innings.
5. Max Scherzer, Nationals
| IP | R | ER | H | HR | BB | K | PC | Gm. Sc. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6.0 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 91 | 51 |
Scherzer, a candidate to take home the NL Cy Young award, didn't get his postseason off to a great start against the Dodgers. He couldn't outduel Kershaw either; despite lasting one inning longer than his counterpart, Scherzer gave up one more run and had fewer strikeouts, though he didn't walk a batter. The two home runs he allowed matched his postseason career high set in the 2014 ALDS, and those were ultimately the difference in his duel with Kershaw.
4. Yu Darvish, Rangers
| IP | R | ER | H | HR | BB | K | PC | Gm. Sc. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.0 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 84 | 40 |
Darvish's first career playoff start, in 2012, was a stellar performance; this was most certainly not. The Blue Jays rocked the 30-year-old for five runs on five hits in five innings, and four of those hits were home runs. Darvish was the second pitcher in a matter of days - and second in LDS history - to allow three homers in one inning, and those long balls put the Rangers into a 2-0 hole heading to Canada for Game 3.
3. Rick Porcello, Red Sox
| IP | R | ER | H | HR | BB | K | PC | Gm. Sc. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.1 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 72 | 37 |
The favorite for the AL Cy Young wasn't pitching like Cy Young on this day. Porcello became the first pitcher in division series history to allow three homers in an inning during his rough start Thursday in Cleveland. Perhaps the most incredible stat: those were the first three homers Porcello's allowed in nine career playoff appearances. The lone saving grace was his six strikeouts, tying a postseason career high.
2. David Price, Red Sox
| IP | R | ER | H | HR | BB | K | PC | Gm. Sc. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 65 | 59 |
When Price signed in Boston for $217 million he proclaimed, "I guess I've been saving all my postseason wins for the Red Sox." He's still looking for that elusive victory after Friday's disastrous outing in Cleveland, which raised his career playoff ERA to 5.54. He only pitched 3 1/3 innings, the second-shortest October outing of his otherwise excellent career. Yet again, Price's October struggles could be the cause of his team booking some early tee times.
1. Cole Hamels, Rangers
| IP | R | ER | H | HR | BB | K | PC | Gm. Sc. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 82 | 20 |
Sure, the Blue Jays' bats are tremendous and powerful, but nobody expected this kind of disaster from a former World Series MVP. Hamels put up career worsts across the board Thursday - one strikeout, seven earned runs, 3 1/3 innings pitched, the first time in his playoff career he didn't make it through four frames - and got no help from his defense. Hamels' meltdown was unexpected in Texas, and put the AL-best Rangers in a tough position for the remainder of the series.