Aaron Ashby’s playoff struggles in previous years taught him how important it was to avoid getting caught up in the pressure of the moment.
asserted
it → teach → moment
The mindset shift has helped the Milwaukee Brewers left-hander deliver one of the great runs by any reliever in postseason history.
asserted
hander → help → history
Ashby finished a five-out save after the Brewers rallied from a four-run deficit in a 5-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays for a 2-0 World Series lead Saturday night.
asserted
Brewers → finish → lead
He struck out Yandy Díaz to end the game, stranding the potential tying run at third base.
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He → strike → base
That extended Ashby’s shutout streak this postseason to 15 2/3 innings.
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That → extend → innings
According to Sportradar, Cleveland’s Andrew Miller had the longest streak of consecutive scoreless relief innings within one postseason with 16 in 2016.
uncertain
Miller → accord → 2016
Including the regular season, Ashby has thrown a career-best 20 2/3 straight scoreless innings.
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Ashby → include → innings
“I don’t know that I have the words to describe it,” the 28-year-old Ashby said of his October success.
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Ashby → know → success
“Maybe when it’s all said and done.”
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it → say → ?
Brewers relievers have allowed seven earned runs over 50 2/3 postseason innings.
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relievers → allow → innings
That’s helped Milwaukee come from behind in seven of its nine victories.
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Milwaukee → help → victories
Ashby’s performance is particularly notable because of how he had struggled in previous postseasons.
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he → struggle → postseasons
Before this year, Ashby had allowed nine runs — eight earned — in 9 1/3 playoff innings.
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Ashby → allow → innings
He believed he knew the reason why he had come up short.
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he → believe → reason
“Trying to grip it too tight and make too much happen, be too good, throw too hard,” Ashby said.
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Ashby → try → it
“Any number of things you can do in a big situation when there’s a lot of adrenaline.”
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you → do → adrenaline
Now he’s reminding himself to take a breath and trust his stuff.
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he → remind → stuff
The results have his teammates marveling at his poise under pressure.
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teammates → have → pressure
“He’s just low-key, man,” Brewers captain Christian Yelich said after Game 1.
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Yelich → ’ → Game
“He just goes with the flow.
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He → go → flow
He’s got the same heartbeat every day.
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He → get → heartbeat
That approach has made Ashby the guy the Brewers trust as much as anyone when a game’s on the line.
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game → make → line
Brewers manager Pat Murphy showed his faith in Ashby by bringing him back out for the ninth inning Saturday after he already had gotten the final two outs in the eighth.
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he → show → eighth
Ashby allowed a leadoff double to Jonny DeLuca before striking out Victor Mesa Jr. and retiring pinch-hitter Ben Williamson on a grounder to the right side.
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Ashby → allow → side
That brought up the right-handed-hitting Díaz, who got ahead 3-1 in the count after Ashby threw two pitches in the dirt.
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Ashby → bring → dirt
Ashby froze him with a backdoor breaking ball to make it 3-2, then Díaz attempted to check his swing but didn’t get the call, throwing up his arms in frustration.
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Díaz → freeze → frustration
“I didn’t go look at it, but from my vantage point, it did look like that he swung,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said.
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Cash → go → point
Ashby credited catcher William Contreras for guiding him through that final inning.
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Ashby → credit → inning
“I’m just trusting him,” Ashby said.
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Ashby → trust → him
“There’s not a lot of thinking I’ve got to do.
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I → ’ → thinking
He’s locked in right now.”
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He → lock → ?
Murphy was asked after the game how he chose to bring Ashby back out for the ninth rather than using usual closer Trevor Megill.
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he → ask → Megill
“Very carefully,” Murphy quipped.
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Murphy → quip → ?
Murphy went into much more detail when he described Ashby’s ability to have effective relief outings that extend beyond one inning.
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that → go → inning
Ashby had a five-out save and a three-inning save during the Brewers’ NL Championship Series sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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Ashby → have → Dodgers
“He does what it takes,” Murphy said.
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Murphy → do → what
“It’s unconventional.
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It → ’ → ?
It’s Goose Gossage-like.
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It → ’ → ?
I guess we had a guy like that here, too: Rollie (Fingers).
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we → guess → that
Sometimes you make mistakes, sometimes you go with it.”
asserted
you → make → it
…and 6 more, not listed.
The Aporia
