Especially for those who were already concerned when Liam Hendriks entered the game to pitch for a third day in a row, there was cause for much gnashing of teeth when fans’ worst fears were realized: Hendriks was touched for 2 runs and the A’s bid to host the wild card game was stalled.
I was among those who leaned towards staying away from Hendriks last night, though I think it’s pretty evident that a duo chosen from Wendelken, Petit, and Soria had plenty of potential to disappoint. And the fact is, I’m not sure that what transpired exactly suggests that Bob Melvin made a poor choice.