White Sox manager Tony La Russa says he’d order walk of Dodgers’ Trea Turner again
CHICAGO — A day after ordering a two-strike intentional walk that backfired, Chicago White Sox manager Tony La Russa said he would do it all over again.
In the sixth inning of Thursday’s 11-9 loss to the Dodgers, La Russa walked right-handed-hitting speedster Trea Turner with a 1-and-2 count. Left-handed-hitting Max Muncy followed with a three-run homer off left-hander Bennett Sousa that opened the Dodgers’ lead to 10-5.
Muncy had five RBIs in his return after missing 11 games because of left elbow inflammation. He entered the game hitting .150 to Turner’s .303.
Before Friday night’s home game against the Texas Rangers, the 77-year-old La Russa referred to a line he said was passed on to him by former White Sox and Baltimore manager Paul Richards.
“Trust your gut. Don’t cover your butt,” La Russa said.
Max Muncy had five RBIs, including a three-run homer, in his return in the Dodgers’ 11-9 win over the White Sox in Chicago on Thursday.
Freddie Freeman was at second base in the sixth Thursday after Sousa bounced an 0-and-2 slider for a wild pitch. With first base open, La Russa ordered the intentional walk to Turner, whom he believed represented a bigger threat.
“Pssssh, 24 hours later, I’m even more surprised,” La Russa said of the reaction. “That’s not even a close call. I mean do you know what Muncy was hitting from the left-hand side this season? .125.”
The move was all about Turner, who had already driven in a run when he legged out an infield single.
“Turner is a tough hitter with no strikes, one strike, two strikes,” La Russa said. “He shortens up, and he’s got all kinds of ways to put the ball in play and hurt you.
“Now, if it had been a right-handed pitcher, yeah, I probably would have tried to make a pitch.”
Walker Buehler and the Dodgers fell 7-2 on Friday night at San Francisco. He lasted four innings, and the Dodgers later announced the pitcher left because of elbow discomfort.
Turner said he was astonished when he was sent to first. Muncy admitted he was riled, then lofted a 2-and-2 pitch from Sousa just over the left-center wall for his fourth homer.
“Since then, somebody sent me some stats about what Turner hits with 1-2 counts,” La Russa said. “He’s like the third- or fourth-best hitter in baseball over the past three years. I mean, we all know that.”
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