Yesterday’s first game of a White Sox-Phillies doubleheader proved once again that managers just don’t get it. The Sox were handed a victory due to terrible strategy on the part of the Phillies, as well as by an error that allowed the eventual winning run to score in extra innings.
The score was tied at 3 when the game resumed in the bottom of the 9th after a rain delay. The Phillies’ first two batters reached, and they had second and third, no outs. This means they had two opportunities to squeeze in the winning run. They didn’t squeeze and didn’t score.
In the tenth, still tied, the Phillies had first and third, one out. They had just failed to score the previous inning on two chances with the winning run on third and less than two outs. Did the Phillies attempt to squeeze in the winning run? No, and again, they did not score.
As so often happens when a team doesn’t score with a man on third and less than two outs, the momentum change results in the other team scoring. The Sox did score in the 11th to take a 4-3 lead, then scored a second run on a two-out error on a ground ball that should have ended the inning. The Phillies did score a run in the bottom of the 11th, but the run that scored on the error was the difference.
The Sox won 5-4 due to the terrible Phillies strategy.