3 Tony La Russa mistakes that doomed White Sox in Game 2

The Chicago White Sox are in a two-game hole to the Astros thanks to some questionable decisions by manager Tony La Russa.

There was already skepticism around Tony La Russa’s ability to take the White Sox deep into the playoffs. Confidence is eroding even more after Chicago fell to 0-2 in the ALDS to the Astros.

The White Sox will get to stew over their 9-4 loss on Friday as they head back to Chicago for Game 3 on Sunday.

Part of that reflection will have to involve coming to terms with a slew of missteps from La Russa.

Tony La Russa mistakes that doomed the White Sox vs. the Astros

1. Waiting to pull Giolito

Half of the responsibility for a manager is understanding when a pitcher can keep going and when he can’t. La Russa messed up the calculation with Lucas Giolito, letting him come out to pitch the fifth inning despite his command wavering noticeably in prior innings.

Giolito walked the two runners who would go on to score in the fifth inning, opening the door for the Astros to tie the game up.

It was also a headscratcher to bring in Garrett Crochet to clean up Giolito’s mess. He ended up giving up the tying runs. Considering he threw 26 pitches in Game 1, it’s a miracle he got out of the inning giving up only those.

La Russa left more rested and reliable arms in the bullpen for that.