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AL Wild Card 2016: Why the hell didn’t Buck Showalter pitch Zach Britton?

By Josh Hill

Jul 9, 2016; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Orioles relief pitcher Zach Britton (53) reacts after the game ending throw by second baseman Jonathan Schoop (not pictured) in the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Baltimore Orioles defeated Los Angeles Angels 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 9, 2016; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Orioles relief pitcher Zach Britton (53) reacts after the game ending throw by second baseman Jonathan Schoop (not pictured) in the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Baltimore Orioles defeated Los Angeles Angels 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Baltimore Orioles didn’t use their best pitcher, Zach Britton, in a do-or-die game they lost — so what the hell happened?

In the bottom of the 11th inning, Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter was faced with a decision. Does he turn to the best relief pitcher on his roster or continue shuffling through guys not named Zach Britton? One of those outcomes ends with Ubaldo Jimenez coming into the game and serving up two straight hits before offering up a game-winning homer. The other — well, we’ll never know the other because Showalter went with Option A.

The Orioles are going home and as fans struggle to come to grips with how the season ended, we’re all wondering the same thing: how in the actual hell did Showalter leave his best pitcher on the bench?

It’s not as though Britton would have guaranteed a win, but baseball is a numbers game and the odds were in favor of Baltimore winning if they rolled with Britton. He’s been

So why wasn’t Zach Britton in the game, despite warming up briefly in the 8th inning? That’s a question that has no easy answer — but still has an answer. Showalter confirmed that Britton was healthy and available to pitch in the game. That rules out the theory that the Orioles closer hurt himself warming up.

Instead of going with his closer in a possible extended setup situation, he rolled the dice with the one-two punch of Brian Duensing and Ubaldo Jimenez. The second of those two punches missed the mark bad.

Zach Britton is in the conversation for the AL Cy Young. As a closer.

That’s absolutely unheard of. Almost as unheard of as a manager not turning to his best option to win. Dave Cameron at FanGraph opined that Showlater was trying to put Britton in a position to get a save.

This was basically confirmed by the manager after the game.

So there you have it. That’s the explanation. This isn’t an easy answer but it is an answer. Buck Showalter made a historic flub in trying to get his closer a save when he should have been thinking about the win.

If anything, that at least explains why the Orioles lost even if it hardly excuses it.

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