Yankees Inflict FULL WEEK of Mid-Game Shutdowns
Update of MLB Run Prevention in Innings 4-8 (thru 5/19)
We hadn’t seen this yet in 2024. A pitching staff didn’t allow two or more runs a single time through a week of action. The New York Yankees just posted a 0-0-0, 1-0-0 sequence on the Minnesota Twins (all goose-eggs) and Chicago White Sox (only one run allowed in the first game).
That was good enough to launch the Yanks to the top of our MLB charts. Whether you’re looking at percentage of shutdowns, or average runs per mid-game (innings 4-8) allowed, NYY is best in the Majors.
Before we run through all 30 teams, a quick refresher of terms for any first time readers. (It’s mostly a cut-and-paste from last week, so feel free to skim through if you’ve read these before.) We’re looking EXCLUSIVELY at run prevention in innings 4-8. Most analysts already know about starting pitchers. Most know which closers are great or struggling. Too many pundits (and bettors) just kind of float over the middle innings without seeing strengths and weaknesses of starters the second time through a lineup, or middle relievers.
I’ve been keeping this stuff by hand through the season. We’re looking at…
*SHUTDOWN PERCENTAGE: which we’re defining as any time a staff allows 0 or 1 run in that mid-inning stretch of a game. If a staff shuts down the opposing offense, that’s obviously a great thing. Allowing 2 or more runs means the staff didn’t shut them down.
*RUNS ALLOWED PER MID-GAME: It can be good to know for Over/Under consideration which teams really get rocked in the mid-game. Wanted to keep track of that as well in case it was just as important, or MORE important than shut down percentage.
*RECENT FORM: I put last week’s numbers in game order in parenthesis so you can see what each team is doing lately. That will help signal any course changes (previous studs falling apart, previous stragglers fixing problems). Not going to put a lot of weight on recent form. But, sometimes you do spot course changes…particularly if you’re doing that week-to-week and paying attention.