Hader back to multi-inning role? Not so fast

From 2017-19, Josh Hader had 72 appearances in which he recorded four outs or more for the Brewers. Only two relievers in all of baseball (Yusmeiro Petit and Miguel Castro) did it more, and nobody did it better. Hader’s sparkling 1.50 ERA and 0.67 WHIP in those multi-inning outings made him one of the biggest weapons in baseball, and Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell deployed that weapon expertly.

But so much of the 2020 season has been unusual, and so it is with Hader’s role. Until his four-out save in Friday’s 4-3 win over the Cubs, Hader was exclusively a one-inning guy, seemingly out of deference to the quickness of Summer Camp and its effect on conditioning.

“Taking three months off takes a toll on your body,” Hader said. “You don’t want to push it too fast to where you’re battling injuries or not putting yourself in a good situation.”

Interestingly, though, Counsell said Friday’s appearance was not simply a matter of Hader having been stretched back out and returning to his normal, multi-inning role. Counsell made it sound as though what we saw against the Cubs might be more of an exception than rule going forward.

“I’m not sure how this is going to go,” Counsell said. “There are a couple couple different ways to think about it. Our personnel is different this year. That’s got me considering different things with how guys are throwing the ball and how we’re deploying them. I don’t know if we’ll commit to [multi-inning outings for Hader]. I don’t know if that’s the case.”

Just as interestingly, Hader, who's sixth in MLB relief innings (162 1/3) going back to the start of 2018, said it’s his preference to be a one-inning guy.

“Honestly, I like the one inning,” he said. “I think the hardest thing is going up and down. It’s definitely a different kind of pitching when you have to go multiple [innings]. If I can go one and call it a day and save the pitches and keep them low, that’s ideal, for sure.”

But in 2020, Hader certainly hasn’t shown any wane in effectiveness from all that use or the strange schedule. Though he did walk two and plunk David Bote with a pitch on Friday night, Hader nevertheless maintained the one-run lead and his 0.00 ERA in 5 1/3 innings of work this season.

He also maintained an absurd stretch of dominance against the division-rival Cubs. Going back to the last out of Game 163 in 2018, the Cubs are a collective 1-for-34 with four walks, the hit-by-pitch and 18 strikeouts against Hader. The last 26 Cubs batters to face him have gone hitless.