Last Friday night, Angels manager Mike Scioscia was prepared to do something he almost never does. He planned to use his best reliever, Cam Bedrosian, to begin the eighth inning of a game his team led, because the opposition’s best hitters were due to bat next.
Though the game’s circumstances changed and he did not act, he later acknowledged that the thought was there.
Then, on Saturday night, Scioscia formulated another unusual decision, this time acting on it. He asked Bedrosian to get five outs in a one-run game in order to secure an Angels victory.