Aaron Ashby sets postseason reliever record with 18 scoreless innings
The Brewers left-hander passed Andrew Miller’s single-postseason mark during World Series Game 4, though Milwaukee lost to Tampa Bay in extra innings.
Milwaukee Brewers reliever Aaron Ashby extended his scoreless postseason streak to 18 innings in World Series Game 4 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg on October 27, setting a single-postseason record for a reliever, according to MLB.com. His 2 1/3 perfect innings came in a 4-3, 12-inning loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.
Ashby passed Andrew Miller’s 16 scoreless innings for Cleveland in 2016, a comparison MLB.com attributed to the Elias Sports Bureau. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel also identified Miller as the previous record holder. The mark concerns relief innings in one postseason; Mariano Rivera’s longer scoreless run of 33 1/3 postseason innings spanned 1998 through 2000, MLB.com reported.
How Ashby reached 18 scoreless innings
Ashby entered in the ninth with the score tied 2-2 and faced the heart of Tampa Bay’s order. He struck out Jonathan Aranda on a full count, then got Junior Caminero and Liam Hicks to ground out. Milwaukee did not score in the top of the 10th, and Ashby returned for another scoreless inning before recording one out in the 11th and giving way to Antonio Senzatela, according to MLB.com.
KCTV reported that Game 4 was Ashby’s ninth appearance of the playoffs and that he had worked more than one inning in eight of them. MLB.com said he had recorded at least five outs without allowing a run in seven consecutive appearances, a postseason first for a pitcher over a run of at least six such outings. His workload has therefore been part of the record, alongside the uninterrupted scoreless innings.
What Ashby and Miller said about the streak
Ashby told MLB.com earlier in the World Series that the Brewers had built a foundation during the season for him to handle repeated multi-inning appearances. He said he did not feel tired or fatigued in the postseason. MLB.com reported that on three occasions he recorded five outs and returned to pitch the next day.
Miller, whose 2016 mark Ashby surpassed, told MLB.com that Ashby appeared to be in a stretch where his timing and mechanics felt right. Reflecting on his own run, Miller pointed to rest on postseason off-days, adrenaline and luck as factors that can help sustain a scoreless streak. Ashby’s record grew even as the Brewers lost Game 4, separating his individual achievement from the game’s result.
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Sources and context
- Aaron Ashby sets MLB record with another dominant performanceMilwaukee Journal Sentinel (republished by Yahoo Sports)
- Ashby makes history with record scoreless streak for reliever in postseasonMLB.com
- Park Hill alum sets MLB playoff record as standout reliever for BrewersKCTV5
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.