Some managerial moves defy description. Take, for instance, the eighth inning of last night’s Philadelphia Phillies-San Francisco Giants debacle at Oracle Park.
With a runner on first and two outs, Jose Alvarez was on the mound for the Phillies. Arguably the Phillies most productive reliever this season, Alvarez had not surrendered a run since June 28, a span of 28 innings. Inexplicably, manager Gabe Kapler strolled to the mound and summoned Nick Pivetta to face Kevin Pillar, who was scorching-hot offensively.
It was bad enough that, following a wild pitch, Pillar proceeded to scorch a triple to give the Giants a 7-6 lead, but two batters later, Giants closer Will Smith approached the plate for his first-ever plate appearance (the third Giant to do that over the course of eight innings).