Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington said after Wednesday’s 5-2 loss to the Chicago White Sox that he regretted not taking out right-handed starting pitcher Nick Tepesch in favor of left-hander reliever Joseph Ortiz to face the left-handed hitting Alejandro De Aza in the top of the seventh inning.
“It was a bad decision on my part,” Washington said to the media. “I’ll take the blame for it. I was ready to go out there and get him and I second-guessed myself. I made a bad decision. It didn’t work.”
It obviously didn’t work, as De Aza clobbered a two-run home run over the right field fence, extending Chicago’s lead from 3-2 to 5-2 and putting the proverbial nail in the Rangers’ coffin.
In Thursday’s series finale in Texas, it will be imperative for Washington to make better decisions. There should be no second-guessing, but instead the 61-year-old skipper needs to make sure that he plays the percentages when he has such a chance.
Maybe it will work, maybe it won’t. But since the opposite didn’t get the job done, it can’t hurt to try.
As for the White Sox, the opportunity is there for them to ride the momentum of Washington’s gaffe and grab a series win against the American League West leaders. In an attempt to do so, they will turn to no. 1 starter Jake Peavy, who is 3-1 with a 3.38 ERA in five starts.
In the end, it all depends on which club uses Wednesday’s late-inning events to its advantage. Does Texas learn from its mistake,or does Chicago use it to put the foot to the Rangers’ jugular on Thursday?
Josh McKinney is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @SuperJMac32, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
