San Diego Padres manager Craig Stammen was left in an awkward situation after a forgotten MLB rule forced Walker Buehler out of Wednesday's game against the Washington Nationals .
Stammen initially went to the mound intending to make a pitching change, but Buehler managed to convince his manager to leave him in the game. The problem was that both had forgotten pitching coach Ruben Niebla had already visited Buehler earlier in the inning.
Because it was the second mound visit of the inning, Buehler had to be removed under MLB rules, leaving Stammen and his pitcher stunned by the sequence of events.
Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images
The incident happened in the third inning with the Padres trailing 2-0 and the Nationals threatening with the bases loaded and one out.
Stammen had initially decided that Kyle Hart was the better matchup against CJ Abrams . However, after Buehler made his case on the mound, the manager changed his mind and began walking back towards the dugout.
That was when the umpires intervened.
The second mound visit meant Buehler was required to leave, and Hart entered the game instead. Stammen later admitted that he became less decisive during his walk to the mound.
"I've got to be more decisive in the moment, or in that walk to the mound," Stammen said. "I was decisive in the dugout and less decisive as I went. When you get less decisive, the game speeds up on you and you make a decision that you probably shouldn't."
Buehler, meanwhile, acknowledged that he had other things on his mind during the tense situation.
"When he turns around, I think I'm still in the game," Buehler said. "At the end of the day, there's a lot going on in my head besides how many mound visits we have."
Fortunately for Stammen and the Padres, the mistake worked out perfectly.
Hart pitched 2(1/3) scoreless innings and escaped the bases-loaded jam before San Diego 's offence exploded. The Padres scored seven runs across the next three innings on their way to a 9-2 victory.
Buehler also accepted his part in the outcome afterwards, saying: "At the end of the day, I didn't pitch good enough in the third inning to stay in there anyway. Credit to the offense and the bullpen."
The Padres improved to 78-68 with the win and remained in the thick of the National League Wild Card race, meaning Stammen's unusual mistake ultimately did little damage to their playoff push.
Read more:
