The Cubs, up 2-0 in the 4th inning, have men on second and third, no outs, with 7-8-9 due up. The Pirate pitcher had already struck out 7 and it was just the 4th inning. He strikes out the 7th-place hitter for the first out and his 8th strikeout. Does Sveum squeeze with 8 and 9 coming up? No, and the 8th-place hitter strikes out for the 9th strikeout, and the pitcher, Samardzija, grounds out, so they don’t score.
The Cubs, up 2-0, had a guy double in a run to make it 3-0, and he was out in a rundown between second and third after the throw to the plate. I have said this for years, and I’ll keep saying it–guys that get thrown out on the bases after RBI hits should be benched. That takes you out of a potential big inning.
Samardzija was taken out after 8 innings. He had given up just 2 hits, was sailing along, and I believe struck out the last 2 guys he faced. He was still throwing 96 mph in the 8th inning, although he had thrown 110 pitches. Sveum brings in Marmol. That’s what he did in last year’s 2-1 loss in the opener when Dempster pitched a gem, and Marmol blew it. I think Marmol also blew the second game last year when Sveum brought him in in the wrong situation. Marmol had bad outings his last few outings in spring training, so was struggling. Marmol struck out the first guy, but he could easily have walked him, as the guy swung on a 3-2 pitch that bounced in. A short time later, the score was 3-1, the tying runs on base, and just that one out that he was lucky to get. Doesn’t Sveum realize that when a team is completely dominated by a pitcher, they get a new life when you take that pitcher out of the game?
Now, to the Sox. In the third or fourth inning, I believe, the Royals had bases loaded, one out, with Butler, a good hitter, up. Now, no one would squeeze in that situation because it’s early in the game, and you have one of your best hitters up. I wanted them to squeeze because Sale is pitching, he’s pretty much unhittable, and it’s 37 degrees out. When it’s cold, it’s tough to hit and score runs (only one run was scored all game), and I felt the Royals needed to get the early lead. They didn’t squeeze, didn’t score of course, and the Sox won 1-0. Sale pitched 7-2/3 scoreless innings. That decision cost them the game.