Coming into Tuesday’s game against UNLV, the Sun Devils were rolling.
Three straight wins over Oregon to start conference play was brought about by phenomenal execution of the age-old formula: good hitting plus good starting pitching wins baseball games.
Notice, that formula leaves out one very crucial piece of a team: its bullpen.
In those three games against the Ducks, Arizona State used its relievers on occasion but wasn’t forced to live by them. There was just one instance – Dellan Raish pitching 1 2⁄3 innings in a 7-4 win over Oregon on Friday – that a Sun Devil reliever went out to the mound without at least a three-run cushion to fall back on.