Dusty Baker's Game of Pitcher Roulette Leaves Him Hamstrung
Wednesday night in San Diego the Reds lost a 3-2 heart breaker to the Padres. Reds starter Travis wood pitched well, going 6 2/3 innings allowing one earned run on five hits with three walks and five strikeouts.
Unfortunetly for Wood, in the seventh inning Baker started a game of pitcher roulette. He replaced Wood with Jordan Smith. Smith faced one batter in the seventh and was replaced in the eighth by Aroldis Chapman, who was pitching in his fourth game in five days.
Baker pulled Chapman after only 10 pitches, seven of which were balls. He replaced him with Nick Masset, who was pitching in his third game in the last four days. Masset continued his struggles, allowing the game winning run and two hits with three walks in 1 1/3 innings. Masset has given up 11 hits, seven earned runs with five walks and three strikeouts in his last 5 1/3 innings.
"I was hamstrung," Baker said. "If I had known Chapman wasn't going to be throwing good, I'd have left (Smith) out there in the eighth," reported Mark Sheldon/MLB.com
Baker only has himself to blame. Leaving Smith in for another inning really should have been a no brainier, he was rested and Chapman was already over worked. Unfortunately for the Reds and Travis Wood, Baker's moves likely cost them the win.
Sheldon also reported the 3-3 road trip was a disappointment for the Reds.
"It's very disappointing," said first baseman Joey Votto. "I think we felt like it was close late in the game, and I think for our first road trip, especially it being a West Coast trip, for us to have gone home with a winning record would've been a really positive thing for the team. It would have said a lot about us."
In Baker's defense, all major league managers seem to play the same game, and I considered Dusty one of the better ones. His track record speaks for itself.
GO REDS
