Doolittle rides bullpen cart, raves about its benefits

PHOENIX - It wasn't anywhere close to the most important thing that happened Thursday for the Nationals, paling in comparison to Adam Eaton's ankle surgery, Matt Wieters' hamstring and/or knee injury, Tanner Roark's outstanding seven-inning start, Matt Adams' RBI single in the 11th or the overall bullpen effort that made the Nationals' 2-1 win over the Diamondbacks possible.

But it certainly qualified as the most fun moment of the night: Sean Doolittle's entrance for the bottom of the 11th via the Chase Field bullpen cart.

The cart - actually there are two of them, one in the Diamondbacks' bullpen, one in the visitors' bullpen - debuted this season but went more than a month without any reliever from any team partaking of its services. Instead, as pitchers made the traditional jog to the mound, the carts have been driving along the warning track simply to transport said reliever's jacket to the dugout.

But then Astros right-hander Collin McHugh rode the cart in from the right field bullpen Friday night. And so even though three of his teammates - Sammy SolÍs, Ryan Madson, Brandon Kintzler - turned down the offer Thursday night, Doolittle just couldn't say no.

"They had asked before the game if there were any relievers interested in taking the cart," the 31-year-old closer said. "They said it's going to be down there. They use the cart anyway to run our jackets and sweatshirts down from the bullpen. So if you guys want, it's available. And I was like, yeah, I think I'm gonna do it.

"I was up playing catch from like the eighth inning on. If we took the lead, I was going to go in the game. So after standing up there for so long, I was like, yeah, I'm definitely taking the cart. I'm not running in."

And so Doolittle entered a one-run game in a manner he never had before, one common for all major league relievers in the 1970s and 1980s but one that disappeared from the sport until the Diamondbacks brought it back this season.

Except there was the practical matter for Doolittle of figuring out where to sit. McHugh rode in the back of the cart, facing backwards.

"I was like, maybe he thought it was Lyft," Doolittle said.

So the left-hander asked the Diamondbacks employee who drives the cart where guys typically sit. The employee responded that only one pitcher had done it so far and chose to sit in the back. Doolittle wasn't keen on that.

"No, I want to see where I'm going," he told the driver. "I'm going to sit up here with you. Is that OK? He was like: 'I guess. I don't know.' He wasn't exactly sure what the protocol was, either."

So Doolittle sat shotgun, then hung on for dear life when the driver - in the pitcher's words - "floored it."

"We got to the infield, and I was like: 'Stop before the dugout! Stop before the dugout! This is good!' Doolittle said. "We kind of skidded a little bit. I didn't mean to make an entrance like that."

As he rode in, Doolittle noticed shortstop Trea Turner fist-pumping in mock celebration of this momentous occasion. He had to put his glove over his mouth to not let the whole world see he was laughing.

Thing is, Doolittle - who proceeded to retire three of the four batters he faced to earn his seventh save of the season - actually takes these things seriously. He wasn't just riding the cart for fun. He felt there was a legitimate, strategical reason to do it.

"A lot of times for me, controlling my breath, controlling my energy, is so important," he said. "And when you run in from a bullpen ... I spend my eight or nine warmup pitches trying to slow my breath down, and not really getting that much out of the pitches. And here, I had less time when I got on the mound. I had 1 minute, 13 seconds. I looked up. But I wasn't out of breath. My heart rate was up, just from throwing out in the pen. But I was in a better spot, energy-wise, I thought. So I loved it."

Doolittle will happily avail himself of the bullpen cart again if he gets another chance to pitch this weekend. And he will continue to support any other major league franchise that decides to add one to its bullpen.

"I think there's a practical thing to it," he said. "People are making a big deal out of it, and I'm like: 'Why would I not conserve my energy before going into a game, in the biggest moment? Why would I not?' ...

"I've been advocating for bullpen carts for a few years. I think they're a good idea. I think there's a practical application for them. So I had an opportunity to try it out, and I think it was great."