joe dokes said:I almost never like walking the bases loaded, because it makes a pitcher ptch differently. But last night.....walking Guy Pearce guaranteed that that Chris Davis would bat with the bases loaded unless Machado hit into a DP. Seemed like a bad gamble to me at the time. I know it was good hitting on a tough pitch, but it was still Pearce and Machado with 2nd and 3rd or Machado and Davis with the bases loaded. I didn't like the manager's choice.
I'll take Farrell's side. Morales has a career .200 OPS split. Pearce has a career .261/.341/.444 line vs. LHP, plus it was already a 1-0 count after the WP. Machado has a 46.5 GB% and is one of the least patient hitters in baseball. And as great as Davis has been, he's still only at .235/.286/.485 vs. LHP this year. Forcing Morales to throw strikes isn't the most desirable of propositions, but I think the circumstances were right for this one.