It's not just Phillies relievers who have stumbled this postseason

A dominant bullpen is what playoff-hopeful teams continue to chase each year heading into October. During a regular season, the severity lessens, and the margin of error allows for some wiggle room. This cumulative effort leads to helping relieve the starting pitching staff through a long regular season.

The Philadelphia Phillies caught an all-time case of questioning the shakiness of their bullpen arms and that reliance on limiting the margin for error. Playoff games are do or die, and the only goal is to close out games and get the job done. If not, the house of cards will inevitably fall.

The Phillies suffered a massive implosion from their bullpen in the NLDS against the New York Mets. One that even stunned the biggest of critics. Their bullpen ERA, by the end of the merciful fourth game of the NLDS, had ballooned to 11.37. Yes, an 11.37 ERA that was led by two All-Stars in Matt Strahm and Jeff Hoffman.

The Phillies relievers gave up a total of 16 earned runs over 12 2/3 relief innings of work. The starting pitching, on the other hand, allowed just six total runs over 21 1/3 innings of work. As improbable as that seems inside the bubble of Philadelphia, they were not alone in their suffering across the league. The Cleveland Guardians and Milwaukee Brewers suffered similar fates.

It's not just Phillies relievers who have stumbled this postseason

Guardians stud closer Emmanuel Clase had everything to give against the New York Yankees in the ALCS but did not have any magic left over from the regular season — a regular season in which he allowed just five earned runs over 74 games and a 0.61 ERA.

A strong playoffs could have set up Clase for an all-time historical finish to his season. A different narrative was scripted this postseason as he allowed eight runs over eight innings, including three home runs, per MLB.com's Mandy Bell.

The Brewers' Devin Williams was another example of everything being set up for a special reliever to shine in the postseason. Williams finished out 2024 with a 1.24 ERA with 38 strikeouts in 21 2/3 innings. Williams failed to stop the bleeding in two outings in the Wild Card round, giving up four runs in 1 2/3 innings and a 21.60 ERA.

The Phillies' Hoffman was someone who truly came into his own in 2024. He earned his first career All-Star appearance, posting a 2.17 ERA with 89 strikeouts in 66 1/3 innings. Things couldn't have gone worse for Hoffman in the playoffs, as he allowed a whopping six earned runs 1 1/3 innings. His outings were one of the main reasons the Phillies failed to make their third straight NLCS appearance.

The 2024 MLB postseason proved to be a different animal for these star relievers as they combined for a 14.73 ERA, per Dayn Perry of CBS Sports. Allowing 18 earned runs over just 11 innings was quite the anomaly for these high-leverage relievers, in contrast to how dominant they were during the summer. They also allowed four home runs during this stretch.

Stars are born in October, but sometimes that comes at the expense of the ones who got you there.

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