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Biagini repays Gibbons’ trust with big outs
- Updated: August 4, 2016
HOUSTON — With two runners in scoring position and one out in the eighth inning of Wednesday night’s 3-1 win over the Astros, Toronto manager John Gibbons was faced with a tough decision — whether to pitch to American League MVP candidate Jose Altuve.
Toronto was clinging to a two-run lead at the time, and Gibbons’ first reaction was to call for the intentional walk. He second-guessed himself almost right away, called for time and went out to the field for a conversation with right-hander Joe Biagini and catcher Russell Martin.
The three got together, and Gibbons informed them the plan had changed. He wanted to go right after Altuve instead of putting the potential go-ahead run on base. Gibbons also made the decision to stick with his rookie reliever in the tight situation, and the move paid off. Biagini retired Altuve and Carlos Correa in order to escape the jam.
“I told Russ, ‘Let’s walk Altuve, you know he’s going to put it in play,'” Gibbons said. “But I also know that Correa gets big hit after big hit this …
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