John smoltz was stating all night even as he was being taken out, That Clayton didn’t have his best stuff, and was not locating his pitches. He got the 2 outs but clearly you could see the batters making good contact, and it was just a matter of time ...plus factor in the previous inning where he was struggling.

It was a smart move, because his command was clearly on a downtrend. So the proactive move prevented another choke....Take him out in the 6th in the PO, should always be the move.

I have no horse in the race. I’m just an American league guy.