MILWAUKEE BREWERS

Here's why Corbin Burnes didn't pitch on short rest against the Braves in Game 4 with the Brewers on the brink of elimination

Tom Haudricourt
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
For Corbin Burnes to pitch Tuesday, he would have had two fewer days off than he usually had with the Brewers' six-man rotation.

ATLANTA - Shortly after word came Tuesday morning that Atlanta was starting Charlie Morton on short rest in Game 4 of the National League Division Series, folks on social media began asking why the Milwaukee Brewers weren't doing likewise with Corbin Burnes, their Game 1 starter.

After all, it was the Brewers facing elimination, not the Braves. Why wouldn't they pull out all the stops as well?

Brewers manager Craig Counsell addressed that decision before the game at Truist Park, explaining why he went with left-hander Eric Lauer instead. 

"Corbin came to us, basically, after he pitched and we had a conversation about it. He was interested in doing it (pitching on short rest)," Counsell said. "And I said, 'Well, we have to make sure you're physically able to do it.' And, as the days went on, he's just not physically ready to do it.

"He wanted to do it, but we had to make sure he was physically ready to do it. And he's just not ready to do it."

During the team's pre-game workout, Burnes confirmed that it was a mutual decision not to pitch him on short rest.

More:The Brewers name left-hander Eric Lauer as their starting pitcher for Game 4 of the NLDS vs. Atlanta

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"The last couple days, I just didn't recover the way that I wanted to, so it was a matter of do I want to go out there at 80-85% or have Lauer go out there full-go and fully-rested," Burnes said. "It came down to the decision that they felt better with Lauer being 100% and the bullpen fully rested and then me being 100% ready for Game 5.

"We wanted the body to be 100% recovered. I think having a guy who hasn't pitched in 10 days being fully recovered with a fresh arm and ready to go is an easy decision. The bullpen guys are ready to go. Hopefully the bats come out swinging today and I'll be ready to go for (a possible) Game 5."

As for how the 37-year-old Morton could be ready to pitch on short rest and not the 26-year-old Burnes, the two rotations were on different schedules. The Braves used a five-man rotation, with pitchers getting four days rest, while the Brewers went with a six-man rotation, with five days rest, as a safeguard in returning to a 162-game schedule after the pandemic-shortened, 60-game season in 2020.

"For me, it was going to be from five or six days' rest to three days rest," Burnes said. "If it would have been four days rest, a day earlier, I would have been 100% ready to go. Being on five or six days' rest most of the year and then trying to come back two days quicker was going to be too much.

"I wish I could be out there. If it was up to me, I would take the ball every single day. That's kind of what I emphasized to Counsell. I'm ready to go, ready to go every day. But being 100% and ready to go is important for Game 5."

It was with that information that Counsell and his staff decided the best option for Game 4 was Lauer, a regular in the rotation over the second half of the season who performed very well. He was the only member of the rotation on the NLDS roster who had yet to pitch, so rest was not a limiting factor.

But Counsell also had confidence in Lauer, who was one of the Brewers' best pitchers after the all-star break (4-1, 2.60 ERA in 12 games). Overall, he was 7-5 with a 3.19 ERA in 24 games (20 starts).

"The big thing about Eric is he's pitched extremely well during the second half of the season, essentially," Counsell. "And he gets lineups with right-handed hitters like most left-handed starters do.

"Right-handed or left-handed, doesn't make a difference for Eric Lauer. Some guys are neutral, we call them. They have strengths against both-sided hitters. So, he's not a pitcher who carries platoon splits. His effectiveness is very similar against left-handed or right-handed hitters, not much difference between them."

Lauer did pitch well for three innings but got bogged down in the fourth when a walk and HBP loaded the bases with two down. Hunter Strickland took over and allowed a two-run single by pinch-hitter Eddie Rosario and it was a struggle for the pitching staff the rest of night, ending with Freddie Freeman's eighth-inning homer off Josh Hader that gave the Braves a 5-4 victory