In the second of a three-game series at Dodger Stadium against the Washington Nationals, the Los Angeles Dodgers found themselves trailing 2-0 in the top of the fifth after a solo home run by Danny Espinoza.
With two on and one out in the inning, Bryce Harper grounded to second base to advance both runners. That brought Daniel Murphy to the plate, which prompted Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to make an unconventional decision.
Rather than allow Scott Kazmir to face Murphy, the second baseman was intentionally walked. Backing Murphy wasn’t another left-handed batter, but Ryan Zimmerman. Although there was action in the Dodgers’ bullpen as Kazmir’s pitch count was soaring, he remained in the game to face Zimmerman.
The decision, while risky, ultimately worked out as Kazmir struck out Zimmerman to end the inning, and the Dodgers ultimately came back to win the game, 3-2.
“Daniel is one of the best hitters in baseball right now,” Roberts explained of his decision. “He not only slugs but drives runs in, hits lefties and is pretty much an even split guy. No disrespect to Ryan Zimmerman. To load the bases and create a force out anywhere, I’ll take our chances with Zimmerman. It was a gamble and could’ve backfired, but I felt confident.”
Kazmir also acknowledged the quirky call, though was comfortable with facing Zimmerman. “The situation we were in and how I approached him the couple of at-bats before, he hadn’t really seen my changeup,” Kazmir said.
“And we hadn’t worked the glove-side of the plate. I felt very confident going into that at-bat.” The Nationals had six extra-base hits off of Kazmir in his six innings of work, but he managed to keep the damage at a minimum.
“When you get guys into scoring position, it’s your job to bear down and get out of the inning,” Kazmir said. “You know you’re one pitch away from giving up a run. It’s just a matter of bearing down. I think that’s what good starters do, and I was able to do that tonight.”
After getting off to a slow start this season, Kazmir is now 5-3 with a 4.52 ERA, 4.58 FIP and 1.30 WHIP.
