SF Giants manager Tony Vitello's retro strategy vs. Cubs looked brilliant...until it didn't

It was a rare sight in the era of the universal DH, but SF Giants manager Tony Vitello did something a bit retro ahead of the bottom of the ninth inning during Saturday’s tough loss to the Chicago Cubs: he employed a double switch.

As I looked down on the field from section 425, I saw Vitello talking to the umpire seemingly with a lineup card in hand. It took me a second to realize what he was doing but when Jonah Cox, who was used as a pinch runner for designated hitter Bryce Eldridge in the top of the ninth, stayed in the game defensively it was clear what he had done.

Looking over at the scoreboard it was a rare sight to see pitcher Keaton Winn’s name due up in the top of the tenth inning if the game went that far but the Giants sacrificed their DH in order to have their best defense on the field. It was a bold move that looked brilliant…until it didn’t.

In the top of the ninth, after Bryce Eldridge smoked a ball past the first baseman to put runners on first and third with one out, Vitello pulled Eldridge out of the game to put in Cox. The rookie outfielder has a ton of speed and did not waste any time stealing second base. That took away the double play and made it much easier for Matt Chapman to focus on hitting a sacrifice fly to give the Giants the lead.

It looked like a good move, and Vitello’s decision to keep Cox in the game while removing Casey Schmitt, who is still the weak link defensively in left field as he learns a new position on the fly, made sense on paper. Having Cox in center, Drew Gilbert in left, and Jung Hoo Lee in right gave the Giants their best defensive alignment out there, but no outfielder would be able to get to the ball that Pete Crow-Armstrong blasted into the seats to tie the game.

It was another predictable instance of the bullpen blowing it and led to the Giants being put in a tough spot in the top of the tenth inning. Victor Bericoto pinch hit for Drew Gilbert with a lefty on the mound and struck out which brought up Winn’s, formerly Schmitt’s, spot in the order.

Vitello made a bold move with the double switch but it backfired

This is where the double switch decision may have hurt San Francisco. Vitello had to turn to Buddy Kennedy off the bench who did draw a walk, but in that spot the Giants certainly would have liked to have their best hitter at the plate in Schmitt. Now, it’s entirely possible the Cubs would’ve just worked around him and walked him as well with two lefties coming up in Rafael Devers and Luis Arraez, but it’s hard not to wish Schmitt at least had a chance even if they just tried to work the corners on him.

The Giants failed to score in the inning and then got walked off in the bottom of the tenth. That’s the curse of being a manager, though. Had Crow-Armstrong laced a ball into the right-center gap and Cox made a diving catch to end the game then Vitello would look like a genius. But the Giants just couldn’t get that 27th out thanks to a bullpen that keeps on blowing games so the decision blew up in his face.

It was still a bold move and shows that Vitello is not afraid to utilize his bench in interesting ways. If the Giants had a more reliable pitching staff then he’d look brilliant but they lost so every little decision will come under scrutiny as a result.

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