Orioles manager Buck Showalter’s decision to have Zach Britton walk Nick Castellanos, the winning run, in the ninth inning yesterday to bring up Andrew Romine (replaced by pinch hitter Hernan Perez) was a ballsy one, but one that paid off in spades for Baltimore. When Showalter came to the mound to talk to Britton before the intentional walk, he accurately predicted the exact turn of events the would lead to the end of the game.
From the Washington Post:
“It was short and sweet,” third baseman Ryan Flaherty said of Showalter’s fateful mound visit in Sunday’s ninth inning. “He really said it, just like that: ‘We’re going to walk this guy, and the next guy’s going to hit into a double play, and we’re gonna go home.’ ”
Sure enough, that’s exactly what happened after Britton walked Castellanos.
Bring on the Royals.
