The chess match of a baseball game, in the context of a longer marathon that is the season, is among the beauties of the sport. Did Santiago Casilla blow a Sunday game on Saturday by forcing Lou Trivino to come in and pitch? Crazy game.
In Saturday’s crazy game, won by the A’s 6-3 in a comeback 11 inning affair, Bob Melvin’s moves came up gold while those of A’s former bench coach Terry Francona fell flat. To parse strategy you have to look at process, not just outcome. Here are the key decisions that were made as Oakland came back in the 8th with 3, then won it with 3 more in the 11th.