Dominant duo of Betances, Miller pushing Yankees to postseason berth
The New York Yankees are poised to enter the postseason for the first time since 2012 despite an aging lineup and rotation.
One of the reasons they're in the thick of the AL East race, and own the top spot in the wild card, is their dominant bullpen duo, Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller.
For all of the publicity the Kansas City Royals bullpen earned last season, Betances and Miller deserve the same praise.
Miller, in his first season as a full-time closer, has performed fantastically, converting 34 of 35 save opportunities. His 14.6 strikeouts-per-nine pace the American League (min. 15 appearances). Second in the league? Betances with a 14.2. They have both struck out an incredible 40% of batters faced.
What might be most impressive about this duo is the dominant stretches they have both enjoyed this season.
Miller began the season by rattling off 17 straight scoreless appearances, striking out 29 in 17 2/3 innings, allowing just three hits. Before allowing two home runs to the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday, Miller rattled off a dominant 15 1/3 innings from August 14 to September 19, striking out 30, allowing a run on seven hits.
Betances, though, was somehow more impressive. He didn't allow his first earned run until June 5. From April 8 to June 2, the towering right hander went 4-0 over 29 1/3 innings, striking out 49 in 29 1/3 innings. He gave up just 10 hits - good for a .103 batting average against. In a particularly dominant streak in May, he faced 30 batters without allowing a hit, walking two over 9 1/3 innings.
Through all of this, there has been some criticism on manager Joe Girardi, claiming that he is overusing the back end of his bullpen. While Miller has stayed consistent, Betances has slipped some, walking nine hitters over his last eight innings pitched. He's thrown more innings than any reliever without a start at 77 1/3 innings. One positive, however, is that he's still a ways off from his career-high 90 innings pitched last season.
Assuming Betances can limit his walks, the duo affectionately known as "DnA" have the ability to shut down offenses, shorten games and heavily factor in a deep postseason run for the Yankees.
*Statistics through September 22.
