Fifteen pitches.
That's how many, on average, San Francisco Giants starter Matt Moore needed to negotiate through eight masterful innings, as the Giants built a 5-2 lead against the suddenly vulnerable Chicago Cubs in Game 4 of the National League Division Series Oct. 11. The left-hander allowed only two hits, struck out 10 and gave up just one earned run, and he was one inning away from sending the NLDS back to Wrigley Field for a deciding Game 5.
But there was one problem -- Moore had thrown 120 pitches, an ideal number for eight effective innings, but considered defective in the new age of baseball math, where triple digit pitch counts are considered harmful and abusive.
