Josh Hader is on a roll.
The San Diego Padres acquired him at the trade deadline from the Milwaukee Brewers.
After struggling in the month of August, Hader seems to be back on track and pitching like his old self again.
He struck out all three batters he faced yesterday in Game 2 of the NLCS against the Philadelphia Phillies.
But with those three strikeouts in the ninth inning, Hader made a little postseason history.
He had previously struck out his last five batters.
His performance yesterday increased that total up to eight.
Prior to Hader, no pitcher in postseason history had ever struck out eight consecutive batters.
Josh Hader of the @Padres is the first pitcher in MLB postseason history to strike out 8 consecutive batters.
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) October 20, 2022
Hader’s Postseason Dominance
Hader has been absolutely nasty in his postseason appearances.
He has yet to allow an earned run and has seemingly been unhittable.
The Padres are certainly getting everything that they expected out of him.
He continues to blow hitters away with his electric fastball and has been almost a sure thing every time he has been called upon by the Padres.
If there was ever a time for the Brewers to regret trading him, now would be it.
Now that Hader is making postseason history, it’s very clear that the Padres got the better end of the deal in early August.
This is Hader at his best.
The Padres will now head to Philadelphia with the NLCS tied at one game apiece.
They’ll have Joe Musgrove going in Game 3 on Friday night.
And if they have a lead late, you can expect to see Hader enter the game in the ninth to close out the Phillies and give the Padres a lead in the series.
NEXT: Josh Hader Is Fully Settled In