Relievers overpowering bats in big way this postseason

CLEVELAND — You are not imagining things: Pitchers are overpowering hitters this postseason in a way we’ve never seen before.

For starters, consider this: The combined on-base percentage this postseason is .286, which is the lowest in the Wild Card era (since 1995). How low is .286? Look at it this way: There were 146 players who qualified for the batting title this year, and a .286 OBP would have ranked 144th.

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The overall scoring tells a similar story, as teams were averaging 3.52 runs per game heading into Game 6 of the World Series, which is the second lowest in the Wild Card era, behind only 2012 (3.49).

Game Date Time (air time/game time) Matchup TV Gm 1 Oct. 25   CLE 6, CHC 0 Gm 2 Oct. 26   CHC 5, CLE 1 Gm 3 Oct. 28   CLE 1, CHC 0 Gm 4 Oct. 29   CLE 7, CHC 2 Gm 5 Oct. 30   CHC 3, CLE 2 Gm 6 Nov. 1 7:30 p.m./8 p.m. CHC @ CLE FOX *Gm 7 Nov. 2 7:30 p.m./8 p.m. CHC @ CLE FOX * If necessary | All times listed ET • World Series coverageShop for postseason gear: Cubs | Indians

So why so few baserunners and so little scoring? The easy answer is strikeouts, but it also goes a little deeper than that.

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