Kyle Koster at The Big Lead criticizes Buck Showalter’s non-use of Zach Britton.

Why was the ball in Ubaldo Jimenez’s possession when Zach Britton, perhaps the most effective arm in all of baseball, watched from afar in the comfort of a single-wear hoodie? How does Buck Showalter leave his largest-caliber bullet in the chamber with so much on the line?

One does not need Showalter’s baseball acumen to understand the basic premise of going down swinging with your best players. His inability to get Britton into the game was a mistake so glaring many thought there must be some previously undisclosed injury nagging the southpaw closer.

Here is Buck’s explanation:

“Sure, (using Britton) crosses your mind from about the sixth inning on. So there’s a bunch of decisions to make there during the course of the game. Our pitchers pitched real well the whole game to hold that club to two runs at that point. You could make a case, probably other than Zach, Ubaldo is pitching better than anybody we’ve had for the last six or seven starts. Those are a lot of tough decisions, but we’re maybe a little different if you’re playing at home.”

Showalter used his bullpen to that point in the game as if the next inning would be a save situation for Britton. That never developed. If you use Britton in the 11th, and the game goes a few more innings, whom does Showalter use to close the game if the team gets the lead? No doubt, if Britton pitches the 11th and a lead in blown in the 15th, we would be asking why Britton pitched so early. Given that the game might go a long time, bringing in a starter was a reasonable move.

The legitimate question is why Britton didn’t face Edwin Encarnacion. That, I am sorry to say, is probably due to the current role of the closer in general. Gone are the days when the closer was a fireman, the pitcher who came in with men on base and the game in doubt. The closer is someone who comes in at the start of an inning to protect a lead, not someone who cleans up the messes of others. I suspect Britton could have handled it. Batters hit .162/.221/.209 against him overall in 2016, but .085/.194/.085 with men in scoring position. That’s 5 for 59 with eight walks, three intentional, and no extra-base hits. He also induced three double plays. Britton also had a reverse platoon split, with RHB posting lower slash line numbers across the board. I understand Showalter’s reluctance, but Britton should have faced Encarnacion.