Ron Washington is one of those managers in baseball that goes with his gut, and that much was clear on Tuesday night when he made an odd call to the bullpen to create a lefty-lefty matchup that didn't make much sense on paper.
That decision cost the Rangers, as Christian Yelich broke a tie in the seventh inning and gave the Marlins an 8-5 win over the Rangers — the Rangers' fourth straight loss.
Neal Cotts, who's had some struggles this year after being nearly unhittable a year ago, was brought in to face Yelich but instead gave up a two-run single on a hot shot off Adrian Beltre's glove at third base into left field.
A quick look at the stats would tell you that left-handed hitters were hitting .282 against Cotts — far from domination from Cotts' perspective. Also, Yelich, said lefty, hits left-handed pitching better than righties, with a .302 average.
It was a frustrating night for Rangers fans, who'd watched their team climb back with a furious sixth-inning rally only to see it squandered by a pitching change that just didn't match up with the numbers.
