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

2. Moving Leury Garcia to right field

The wheels really fell off in Game 2 when La Russa decided to have Cesar Hernandez hit for Adam Engel in the top of the seventh. The move forced Leury Garcia into right field to replace Engel.

It turned out to be a disastrous decision as Garcia misplayed a hit from Carlos Correa into the outfield. The inning should have ended there with an out. Instead the Astros put two runs on the board as a result of the double and Tucker smacked a home run right after to put Houston up by five.

Engel makes that play every time. La Russa took him out of a tied game and put Garcia in a tough spot.

3. Putting Craig Kimbrel in the 7th

Craig Kimbrel is a closer. He’s not a setup man. Yet La Russa insists on using him as one.

La Russa could have used Kimbrel in a million different moments. The one he picked was the worst one for the pitcher.

He came into the game in the seventh with men on first and second. His already tough run with the White Sox got worse when he gave up four runs.

To be fair to Kimbrel, he got screwed by all of La Russa’s previous decisions. He should have gotten out of the inning on the fly ball to Garcia. That’s not to excuse the home run he conceded, but his confidence was already shot. The manager did him no favors.