SAN DIEGO - With Jerome Williams fashioning his best start of the season and an opportunity to break the game open, manager Pete Mackanin decided to stick with the team’s long-time cleanup hitter, Ryan Howard, with two on, two out and his team up two runs in the seventh inning.
Maikel Franco had just been walked intentionally and Howard was matched up against San Diego lefty specialist Marc Rzepcynski. Howard, who is hitting .192 with 142 strikeouts in 328 at-bats against lefthanders since the beginning of 2013, struck out to end the rally.
But an inning later, Pete Mackanin did go to his bench in another spot to bust Sunday’s game in San Diego open.