Left-hander Dylan Lee, who first pitched in a major league game earlier this month, is starting for the Atlanta Braves in Game 4 of the World Series on Saturday night against the visiting Houston Astros.
The 27-year-old made two appearances in the final weekend of the regular season and two in the postseason. He will etch his name in history by becoming the pitcher with the fewest regular-season appearances before making a World Series start.
Marty Bystrom of the Philadelphia Phillies (Game 5, 1980) and Steven Matz of the New York Mets (Game 4, 2015) each made six regular-season appearances before their first World Series starts.
MLB games today: World Series schedule
Lee will be the first Atlanta pitcher used during a bullpen game so his time on the mound figures to be short.
Lee gave up two runs and three hits in two innings during his two regular-season appearances.
He made his first playoff appearance in the National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers and gave up one run (on Chris Taylor’s homer) and three hits in two innings of an 11-2 loss in Game 5.
Lee retired two of the three Astros he faced in Game 2 of the World Series, won 7-2 by Houston.
The start will be Lee’s first since he pitched five innings for Class A Greensboro against Asheville on July 23, 2017. He received a no-decision.
Lee went 5-1 with a 1.54 ERA in 35 relief appearances at Triple-A Gwinnett this season.
Zack Grienke will be on the mound for the Astros, and the 38-year-old is batting eighth in the lineup ahead of light-hitting catcher Martin Maldonado.
Grienke, 38, is the first starting pitcher to not bat ninth in a World Series game since Babe Ruth batted sixth in Game 4 of the 1918 World Series for the Boston Red Sox.
–Field Level Media