Daring Dugout Decision Decides Dramatic Padres-Cubs Duel

In the intense battle between the San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs, the game hung in the balance in the 5th inning. Padres starter Joe Musgrove had labored through 85 pitches, allowing the bases to become loaded with no outs. Manager Mike Shildt faced a crucial decision - leave in his veteran workhorse or go to the bullpen.

Shildt rolled the dice, calling on rookie Stephen Kolek in hopes his sinking stuff could induce a double play ball. However, the gamble backfired spectacularly when Kolek’s third pitch was blasted for a grand slam by Christopher Morel, propelling the Cubs to a 5-1 victory.

“That’s part of the job,” Shildt said after the deflating loss at Petco Park. “It wasn’t the ideal situation for anybody, but that is the job.”

Shildt defended his logic for removing Musgrove despite the veteran’s competitiveness. Musgrove had thrown 14 pitches in the fateful 5th without recording an out after allowing a homer, two singles, and a hit batter.

“He started to have bigger misses. Didn’t locate the first pitch to Belli, and he hit him in the foot,” Shildt explained. “At that point, you’re sitting there at 85 pitches in the fifth with nobody out. When the misses get a little bigger…it’s a decision that I made.”

Musgrove accepted the decision, though he felt he had weapons to potentially escape the jam against Morel and Dansby Swanson.

“I would have liked to have faced Morel. I felt I have a lot of weapons for him and [Swanson],” Musgrove said. “But you put yourself in that situation, you can’t complain about it.”

The pivotal sequence flipped a nail-biting 1-0 game into a 5-1 Cubs lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Whether you agree with Shildt’s move or not, it exemplified the intense decision-making vortex managers face with each pitch.

“You trust your instincts. You trust what’s going on. You trust what you see,” Shildt said. “If we have an out or two in the inning, that’s a little bit different story.”

For the Padres, the controversial call turned a potential series-clinching win into a rubber match on Wednesday as they seek their first series victory of 2024. For Shildt, second-guessing is inevitable, but the alternative is paralysis.

“Wish I could tell you it works every time,” he said. “Fact of the matter is it works a lot more. But when it doesn’t, there’s a lot more awareness to it.”