Until game 6, Schiraldi had this pitching line in the playoffs: 7.0 ip, 5 h, 2 r, 1 er, 4 bb, 10 k, 1.29 era, 1.29 whip, 12.9 k/9
So he had been really good. But man, the wheels came off in game 6, and followed in game 7.
G6: 2.2 ip, 4 h, 4 r, 3 er, 2 bb, 1 k
G7: 0.1 ip, 3 h, 3 r, 3 er, 0 bb, 0 k
TOT: 3.0 ip, 7 h, 7 r, 6 er, 2 bb, 1 k, 18.00 era, 3.00 whip, 3.0 k/9
We always think about the inning of doom, but Boston held a 3-2 lead going into the 8th in game 6. Schiraldi was called upon - and again, he had been really good in the playoffs til this point - and he gave up a single to Mazzilli on a grounder through the hole between 1st and 2nd (when these days a shift would have eaten that up). Then Dykstra sacrificed right back to Schiraldi who made a terrible throw to second instead of getting the easy out at first. So instead of a runner at 2nd with one out, the Mets had runners at 1st and 2nd with nobody out. Then Backman successfully sacrificed, moving both runners over, and they walked Hernandez intentionally. So bases loaded with one out. Then suddenly Schiraldi couldn't find the zone, throwing three straight pitches out of the zone, with none being particularly close. Not wanting (obviously) to walk in the tying run, he had to throw a strike and Carter knew it. So Schiraldi threw a fastball at the knees that Carter (who led the league in SF that year) lined to left for a sac fly to tie the game.
A weak grounder through the hole, a terrible play by Schiraldi, and then his inability to find the strike zone allowed the Mets to tie the game. He had thrown 2 innings in two of his previous 4 postseason outings, and in 15 of his 25 appearances during the season, so this was nothing new. Moreover, he hadn't pitched in a week, so rest wasn't an issue. Rust may have been, but not rest.
He just came in and didn't do the job. UGH.