Tony Vitello made a risky move that Giants fans were against, but it led to his second win in the big leagues
Former Tennessee Vols coach Tony Vitello now has two MLB regular season wins on his resumé.
San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello made a risky move on Tuesday night that ended up paying off in a big way.
Vitello, who is in his first season with the Giants after a wildly successful run as the Tennessee Vols’ baseball coach, made a pitching decision in San Francisco’s 9-3 win against the San Diego Padres that fans didn’t necessarily agree with at the time.
With the Giants leading 4-3 going into the fifth inning, there were fans who felt it was the right time for Vitello to pull starting pitcher Logan Webb from the game.
Webb, who was knocked around in the Giants’ loss to the New York Yankees in the season opener, was at 81 pitches after four innings. And he gave up three runs in the third inning while facing the top of the Padres’ lineup.
With the top of San Diego’s lineup coming up in the fifth inning (which was the third time through the order for Webb), plus it being early in the season, it wouldn’t have been a surprise to see Vitello make a pitching change.
Instead, Vitello stuck with his guy.
Webb struck out the side on just 11 pitches in the fifth inning. He came out for the sixth inning and got three ground ball outs on just 12 pitches, ending the night with 104 pitches across six innings.
A couple of days ago, Vitello was criticized for “sticking with his guy” and not pinch hitting for Jung Hoo Lee in a late-game situation.
On Tuesday, Vitello ignored the analytics and stuck with Webb, and it led to a series win for the Giants.
Sometimes it works out in baseball, sometimes it doesn’t. On Tuesday night in San Diego, it worked out for Vitello.
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