Because of everything that happened after the ninth inning, none of the stories have Rick Renteria’s explanation for having three consecutive batters square around to bunt with diminishing returns. Tim Anderson bunted the go-ahead run to third with nobody out, Omar Narvaez showed bunt multiple times, but never found a pitch to offer at and drew a walk. Then Tyler Saladino tried a safety squeeze himself, but bunted to a drawn-in infield resulting in an easy flip to home for the fielder’s choice.
When Narvaez went down the third base line to confer with Nick Capra, I agreed with Hawk Harrelson and Steve Stone, thinking it was gamesmanship.