That’s a good plan assuming everything’s going to go your way.
Unfortunately for Hinch, nothing went his way after the sixth inning. Online Cigarettes Store USA Howie Kendrick made sure of that when he took a Will Harris pitch off the right-field foul pole.
That moment is where the debate truly begins. If you’re pulling the plug on Zack Greinke with the go-ahead run coming to the plate in the seventh inning, which is a decision on its own that will be heavily second guessed, there would seem to be no more ideal time to use Cole.
Of course, there are other factors involved. Chief among them, Cole hasn’t pitched in relief since his college Newport Pleasure days at UCLA. It’s not a normal routine for him, so he would need appropriate time to warm up. But Houston had the lead Hinch reference for six innings, and still had that lead before the Kendrick at-bat. They never had the lead again once Kendrick rounded the bases, and they never had an answer for Washington’s suddenly awake offense from that point on.
If there’s one thing Cole had all season, it was answers for slowing down and often times dominating whichever offense he faced.
For better or worse, Hinch and the Astros stuck to their plan. For that, some will commend them for not Newport 100s Box overworking a pitcher who carried a heavy load all season and will soon cash in because of it. Others though will question why the plan lacked flexibility, particularly going to the ninth inning down only two runs.
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