The San Diego Padres were ousted from the MLB playoffs last week after failing to score a single run in games 4 and 5 of the National League Division Series. As a result, the Los Angeles Dodgers advanced to the National League Championship Series, while the Padres are waiting at home, licking their wounds.
Given how the NLDS played out, it’s difficult to find fault with manager Mike Shildt. While Game 4 was a blowout, the Padres’ pitching staff limited the Dodgers to only two runs in Game 5, and yet, one of Major League Baseball’s most explosive offences this season went silent when they needed a solid effort from the bats.
While Shildt was not the root of the problem, the Padres manager bears some responsibility for San Diego’s downfall. Shildt made at least two judgments during the final two games of the NLDS that had the potential to swing the series in the Padres’ favour.
Mike Shildt’s choice to start Dylan Cease in Game 4 of the NLDS proved devastating.
If there is one questionable decision, it is Shildt’s decision to send his ace to the mound on short rest for Game 4. Dylan Cease was called upon to start Game 4 of the NLDS against the Dodgers after only three days of rest. Never before had the right-hander toed the rubber on short rest, and it showed in Game 4. This also followed Cease’s poor performance in Game 1 on extended rest.
Cease had been on the mound for less than an inning when it became clear that the decision would backfire. Shildt removed Cease after only 1 2/3 innings, and the Padres’ right-hander allowed three runs on four hits before handing the ball to Bryan Hoeing. The Dodgers led 3-0 after two innings, and 5-0 after three. San Diego was shut out 8-0, sending the series back to Los Angeles for a deciding Game 5. All momentum was lost.
Mike Shildt never changed the Padres’ starting lineup, despite San Diego’s poor performance.
Sometimes it’s vital to flip the script. Shildt refused, and his team may have missed out on advancing to the playoffs as a result. Shildt never changed the batting order or tried to freshen up his starting nine after watching the Dodgers’ pitching staff dominate the Padres’ lineup from the third inning of Game 3 through Games 4 and 5.
Obviously, hindsight is 20/20, but managers must be able to detect these types of defects and shortcomings in real time. Ultimately, your biggest players must appear when the lights are brightest, and Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. failed to do so in Games 4 and 5. But perhaps taking Jake Cronenworth out of the lineup, inserting Donovan Solano, or substituting Elias Diaz would have given San Diego a boost.
Shildt and his coaching staff will have the full offseason to reflect on “what if,” but it would have been good if some proactive measures had been made prior to the Friars’ premature exit from the MLB Postseason, particularly for Game 5 after the damage had been done in Game 4.
This one is going to sting for a while.
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