Brewers SP Wade Miley Removed After 1 Batter vs. Dodgers in NLCS Game 5

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MLB playoff subterfuge reached critical mass Wednesday in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers.

Brewers manager Craig Counsell removed starting pitcher Wade Miley after he threw just five pitches. According to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, that was all part of Counsell’s strategy:

Brandon Woodruff came on in relief and pitched a scoreless first inning.

Plenty of writers had fun with Counsell’s unique approach:

Counsell has pushed the idea of “bullpenning” to its extreme throughout the postseason. Entering Wednesday, the trio of Miley, Jhoulys Chacin and Gio Gonzalez had combined to pitch 23.2 innings in six games.

Taking Miley out of the game so quickly is obviously risky, but Counsell’s thinking is easy to understand. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts will have built his starting lineup around facing a left-handed starter. Instead, Los Angeles gets the right-handed Woodruff.

Give Counsell credit for thinking outside the box, though he’ll likely face a lot of criticism if the Brewers drop Game 5 and fall behind 3-2 in the series.