DETROIT — There are managerial decisions that live on in infamy and others that live on in glory. There’s a fine line between the two.
Twenty-one-year-old Jaret Wright earning the start in Game 7 of the 1997 World Series in lieu of veteran Charles Nagy. Ryan Merritt stepping out of his cowboy boots and onto the mound in the clinching game of the American League Championship Series in 2016. Michael Martinez replacing Coco Crisp in the outfield in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series and then winding up at the plate as history hinged on his half-maroon, half-white Victus bat. Trevor Bauer pitching on short rest in the American League Division Series a year later, despite Cleveland boasting a loaded rotation. Aaron Civale starting the decisive game in the 2022 ALDS at Yankee Stadium, a move that backfired four batters in with one, mighty Giancarlo Stanton hack.
Stephen Vogt’s choice to pinch-hit in the second inning, and again in the third inning, in Game 3 of the ALDS on Wednesday might not match the gravity of the most consequential managerial decisions in Cleveland’s October lore.
But the Guardians’ approach to combatting the Detroit Tigers’ pitching chaos flopped. And now the team that hasn’t won a playoff game in which it was facing elimination since Game 6 of the 1997 World Series, a mere 9,847 days ago, is… facing elimination.
The best way to halt Detroit’s conga line of relievers is, simply, to hit. The Guardians erupted for five runs before the Tigers recorded an out in Game 1. By that point, A.J. Hinch’s plan was foiled and the Guardians could cruise to victory. But Hinch had the Guardians on the defensive in Game 3.
Vogt and several Guardians hitters said after the loss that they were ready for early mixing and matching, but were they ready for a second-inning switcheroo? Hinch texted Vogt after the teams worked out at Comerica Park on Tuesday afternoon to relay that Keider Montero would start. Of course, he didn’t tip his hand as to whether that meant Montero would pitch for three outs or three innings or three hours. Montero didn’t even know he’d only pitch one frame.
Montero tossed 6 1/3 scoreless innings against Cleveland on July 8, in his third big-league start.
In Game 3, he lasted six pitches.
“We kind of knew that was what they were going to do,” Vogt said, “but we had to combat for Montero going.”
In doing that, the Guardians trotted out a left-handed-heavy lineup, with Kyle Manzardo batting second and Will Brennan batting seventh. Manzardo grounded out in the first inning. That was his only at-bat. Brennan never dug his cleats into the batter’s box.
The Tigers went to the bullpen in the second inning and the Guardians went to the craps table.
“We thought that was the opportunity to take our shot,” Vogt said. “Placed some bets, and then just didn’t come through.”
Brennan’s day consisted of one inning patrolling right field at a raucous ballpark. He gathered Parker Meadows’ leadoff single and backed up a few balls hit toward center fielder Lane Thomas. Then, he cheered on his teammates from the dugout for the rest of the game. Jhonkensy Noel, who replaced Brennan at the plate in the second inning, went 0-for-4.
David Fry batted for Manzardo in the third inning. He went 0-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts and a lineout. All three of his at-bats came with runners in scoring position.
As the game unfolded, the Tigers gained the upper hand from a matchup standpoint. Twice, Fry faced a righty, as the Tigers would prefer. They used six pitchers, alternating between handedness each time Hinch visited the mound. Hinch said it wasn’t scripted this way, but it worked “almost perfectly.”
“When you’re playing from behind,” Vogt said, “the other team has the opportunity to get you handcuffed. Outside of maybe a couple at-bats, I felt like we had the advantage in almost every situation today. We had traffic going. I thought we did a great job setting the table. We just weren’t able to come up with a big hit.”
They’ll have to counteract the pitching chaos again in Game 4, and they’re now riding a streak of 20 consecutive scoreless innings. Hinch noted how the Tigers can throw “a 6-foot-6 lefty all the way to some fireball right-handers to (Tyler) Holton throwing backdoor cutters to (Beau) Brieske throwing turbo sinkers and changeups.”
Steven Kwan, a rare bright spot in the Guardians’ lineup, said that it makes it “hard to get into a rhythm. … You don’t know how his stuff’s going to be, how it’s moving that day. You kind of just have to go on the fly.” Kwan had three hits on Wednesday, and Brayan Rocchio reached twice in front of him, but Fry and José Ramírez, the next two in the order, went hitless in six at-bats.
Guardians hitters lamented the lack of a timely hit and the magnification of small sample sizes in the playoffs, but a team output of 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position, as they mustered in Game 3, can doom an entire season. That’s the way the playoffs go, which is why every managerial chess move can lead to splendor or shame.
Now the Guardians sit on the brink of winter, with another serving of Tigers chaos on deck, and another batch of decisions for Vogt to mull.
(Top photo of Vogt: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)
