Minding Your P's and k's

Just for fun, I checked the box score from yesterday’s divisional round for two things, pitchers used and batters striking out. We’ll start with the Braves beating the Marlins, 9-5. Atlanta used six pitchers. Over on offense, the Braves struck out ten times. Compare that to Miami using four pitchers and striking out eleven times. In NLDS game two, the Dodgers topped the Padres, 5-1, using five pitchers and striking out seven times. San Diego tried nine pitchers while striking out fourteen (!) times. Over in the American League, the Astros bested the A’s, 5-2, employing just three pitchers and striking out a mere four times. For Oakland, it was five pitchers and five punchouts. Last and certainly not least, the Rays beat the Yankees, 7-5, using four pitchers and striking out six times along the way. New York went with six pitchers while striking out eighteen (!!) times. Moral of the story: In all four games, the team that struck out less won. In three of the four games, the team that used fewer pitchers won. However will the analytics crowd spin those numbers? Better launch-angle approach and spin rate?