When the Astros bullpen carried the starting rotation in last year’s postseason, Phil Maton was instrumental in the middle innings, acting as the relief staff’s fireman.
He produced a 0.73 ERA in 12 1⁄3 innings while striking out almost 29 percent of the batters he faced, minimizing walks and limiting opposing hitters to a .196 batting average in the process.
It was an incredible run for Maton that featured his peak form, which he’s understandably and perhaps predictably failed to replicate in 2022.
The sample size is relatively small, but the decrease in quality has been fairly severe.