Chicago White Sox manager Tony La Russa threw a managerial curveball during Thursday's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers when he decided to intentionally walk shortstop Trea Turner despite having a 1-2 count and two outs.
The decision didn't work for the White Sox as the next batter, Max Muncy, took lefty Bennett Sousa deep with a three-run home run to extend the Dodgers' lead to 10-5.
While many thought it was a strange decision to intentionally walk Turner on a 1-2 count, La Russa defended the move while speaking to reporters after the game.
"You know what he hits against left-handed pitching with 0-1 or two strikes? You know what he hits? Well, do you know what Muncy hits with two strikes against a left-handed pitcher? I mean is that really a question? Because it was 1-2?" La Russa explained. "Turner with a strike left against a left-hander is something you can avoid if you can, and we had an open base and Muncy happened to be the guy behind him, and that's a better matchup."
There was some justification for La Russa's decision as Turner had an .831 OPS against left-handed pitching going into the game. Muncy has struggled with an .450 OPS against southpaws and had not hit a home run all season against lefties.
Although the numbers suggested that with a 1-2 count, La Russa would've been better to stick with Sousa against Turner.
"If Turner gets a hit there, I’d be walking into the lake or something because that would have been stupid," La Russa said, according to Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register. "Does anyone in this room really think, even with the count, we should have gone with Turner? No chance. Muncy is the guy to get out of the inning. We just missed him."
Many of the Dodgers players were confused with La Russa's decision and Muncy let it be known that he took it personally, yelling profane language towards the White Sox skipper as he crossed home plate.
"I wanted to make them pay," Muncy said in a postgame interview with SportsNet LA. "I'll just leave it at that."
