The thing was, I’m not sure anyone watching the game had supreme confidence in Stripling to get six more outs in this one. In fact, I went so far as to joke that I wanted Kenley Jansen to come in to record the last six outs of the game.
Alas, Roberts let Stripling go back out there in the eighth, and he got Brandon Crawford to fly out to open the inning. Next up was Angel Pagan, who walked on five pitches (although ball four was pretty darn close to a strike). And that was that for Mr. Striping.
After 100 pitches and just five outs away from a no-hitter, Ross Stripling was done.
And Twitter just about exploded.
Not with rational thought or reasoned arguments, of course, but with the hottest of hot takes fueled purely by emotions. From former players to national writers to LA Times columnist Bill Plaschke, it seemed no one agreed with Roberts’ first big decision as Dodger manager.
You know, except those who understood what they were looking at. These were the folks who knew that Stripling was just 71.1 innings removed from Tommy John surgery in 2014. These were the observers who recognized that having thrown 100 pitches on Friday, Stripling had thrown more pitches in any of the 40 professional starts he had made in his entire career.
Or how about those who that realized that Stripling had thrown just 58 strikes on Friday night? That he had allowed four baserunners on the night — including two walks in his last six batters? Or even just the fact that this was Stripling’s first start of the season after pitching more than two innings just once all spring?
And just for good measure, let’s not forget: we’re talking about a two-run game, on the road, in the pouring rain. But hey, as my dad always said, ‘Don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story.’
Yes, Chris Hatcher came in and gave up the game-tying home run, and yes Joe Blanton allowed a walk-off home run in the 10th inning, but neither of those things change the fact that Roberts unequivocally made the correct decision.
You make the decision and take your chances; just because it didn’t work out doesn’t mean it wasn’t the right call. The Dodgers need Stripling to be healthy for the next couple of months while they await the rest of their rotation’s return to health.
In fact, if Stripling is going to pitch anything like this in the Majors, they’re going to need him the next few years — something they surely were thinking when they decided 100 pitches was enough for the night.
So, yes, Roberts was right on Friday night. And, well, he lost anyways.
