Has anyone heard why Gates didn’t throw home in the 4th to nail the runner from third? ESP?
Probably was willing to trade a run for 2 outs.
IMO it was the right play that early in the game to try & stay out of a big inning.
That’s what he said in the postgame interview. He said he thought beforehand if the ball came to him, that’s what he’d try as an attempt to reduce the likely damage. It was probably a reasonable thought that turned out to be a bad decision that then turned out to be a great decision.
No, it was the right decision from the start. The problem was, for as great as he pitched, Blaine forgot to cover first. Had Blaine been at first, Biggers wouldn’t have double-clutched and would have thrown to first to complete the double play. Instead, there was a mix-up as Shaddy tried to get to first, and he and Blaine nearly collided there. Almost always better to trade a run for two outs in the fourth inning to stay out of the big inning.
I never said it was the wrong idea. Perhaps I wasn’t clear, but what I meant was the play went bad then with the interference went even better than expected
That was what Gates said. He wanted to go for a double play if there was momentum towards second. He said that is what he felt most comfortable doing. As I wrote, sometimes luck is just sitting on your side. No question it was on that play.