The first question for Dusty Baker on Saturday boiled down to this: Why are you sticking with shortstop Danny Espinosa?
“Well, who else do I have?” Baker asked back before expounding.
Espinosa is of note following his clunker of an evening at the plate in Game 1. He looked helpless against Los Angeles Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw. The trouble for Espinosa is he was overmatched in crucial spots of a playoff game. He struck out three times on 12 pitches against Kershaw. In that time, he left six runners on base.
Here is how Baker explained Espinosa’s night at the plate following Game 1:
“Well, you know, I mean, this is — it’s not the first time this has happened this year, but then Espinosa can turn around and hit the next pitch out of the ballpark,” Baker said.