By Ben Nicholson-Smith, Sportsnet.ca, September 9, 2016
J.A. Happ has pitched 164.1 innings while posting a 3.34 ERA
Jason Grilli knows from experience that there’s a strain placed on relief pitchers when starters have trouble logging innings. Over the course of 14 big league seasons, Grilli has spent enough time backing struggling rotations to know the toll it takes.
“It’s mentally exhausting, it’s physically exhausting, it’s emotionally exhausting,” Grilli says. “You’re sitting there going ‘we’ve got to be on and ready from the fourth inning on.’”
