It was never designed to happen. It just developed organically, with Jose Lobaton becoming the equivalent of Gio Gonzalez’s personal catcher over the course of the summer. Ten straight times Gonzalez took the mound to pitch, Lobaton took his spot behind the plate to catch the left-hander.
Until Wednesday night, when Wilson Ramos served as Gonzalez’s batterymate and the streak ended.
The rationale behind the switch was simple enough: Ramos has suddenly turned productive at the plate in recent days, with five hits (including two homers) in his last 10 at-bats, so he would remain behind the plate no matter who was pitching Wednesday against the Padres.