Nationals reliever Daniel Hudson started warming up in the sixth inning of Game 7 of the World Series. Patrick Corbin had just entered the game. Hudson, like everyone else in the bullpen, was ready and waiting for the remainder of the evening.

Corbin cut through the Astros’ lineup in the sixth, then again in the seventh. He returned to the mound for the eighth. He struck out Carlos Correa, Robinson Chirinos grounded out, Jake Marisnick struck out when swinging at a 3-2 slider. Corbin gave a quick fist pump and yell after Marisnick missed his 44th pitch of the night.

Which meant Hudson was finally going into the game. The top of Houston’s order was coming up: George Springer, José Altuve and Michael Brantley. Two right-handed hitters and a left-hander. Sean Doolittle remained in the Nationals’ bullpen.

Everyone remembers how it ended. Hudson shook off Yan Gomes twice because he wanted to throw Brantley a slider. Brantley swung over it. Hudson threw his glove and the celebration began.

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But, Doolittle was originally supposed to pitch to Brantley.

Hudson let that piece of information out Tuesday night during a Zoom call on Facebook with his teammates. Hudson was slated to pitch against the first two hitters of the ninth. Doolittle was supposed to come into the game to pitch to Brantley.

Neither had a deep matchup history with Brantley. This was simply a matter of splits. Brantley’s OPS against right-handed pitching in 2019 was .928. It dipped to .740 against left-handers. Hudson’s 2019 splits were about even. Doolittle, not surprisingly, was very effective against left-handers.

Hudson’s fastball that night made the historical comparisons moot. Springer popped out on the second pitch of his at-bat. Altuve struck out on three consecutive fastballs, two of which were in the heart of the strike zone. Two outs, the Nationals leading 6-2, Brantley coming up.

The phone rang in the bullpen. Doolittle was informed he would be staying put unless left-handed Yordan Álvarez came to the plate three batters later (Alex Bregman and Yuli Gurriel would have followed Brantley).

“I just held the ball and stopped throwing because I knew Huddy had it and we were going to win,” Doolittle said Wednesday via text. “Once he got to two strikes on Brantley, I kept trying to send him a message using ESP to throw that slider. He finally went to it in the 3-2 count and the rest is history.”

There was no save registered, so Doolittle did not miss out on that. But the imagery will forever belong to Hudson. He was the focal point of a manic celebration in the middle of the diamond after throwing his glove toward the dugout. Doolittle first celebrated in the bullpen, then found a way out and onto the field to join everyone else. He never pitched in Game 7, despite it being the plan, missing out on a piece of history.

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