This all looks like hindsight now that Garcia got torched by a three-run homer, but if you’ll allow me:
Should Jaime Garcia Have Pitched The Seventh?
For six innings, Jaime Garcia rolled through the Phillies' lineup, keeping them off the board while accumulating a pitch total in the low 70s (different sources are saying different things for some reason).
It was a 0-0 tie in the bottom of the sixth when, with two outs, Ryan Theriot singled, and Jon Jay walked. That brought the pitcher's spot to the plate, and Tony La Russa elected to allow Garcia to hit, rather than go to the bench. Garcia struck out, and the game remained scoreless.
From a managerial standpoint, it’s got to be very, very hard to remove a pitcher like Garcia in that situation. But from a statistical standpoint, I’m pretty sure the better move would’ve been to pinch-hit. La Russa had options on the bench, all of whom would’ve had better odds of getting a hit than Garcia. And even though Garcia would’ve been removed early, La Russa’s bullpen is fresh, and good.
Seems to me you have to take a shot at going ahead there in the sixth. La Russa didn’t, and he paid for it.
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