SAN DIEGO -- You can certainly understand why Walker Buehler would be upset.
Behind Michael King, Buehler has been San Diego’s steadiest starting pitcher this season. As the Padres have stormed into playoff contention, Buehler has posted a 3.26 ERA across 10 starts in the second half. He’s earned the benefit of the doubt, hasn’t he?
Then again, you can also understand why he didn’t get it. These games are massive. After Wednesday’s 9-2 victory, the Padres are tied with the Diamondbacks in the race for the final National League Wild Card spot.
But at the time, they trailed 2-0, and Buehler had loaded the bases in the top of the third inning. Out of the dugout came manager Craig Stammen. It was the Padres’ second mound visit of the inning. By rule, Buehler’s day was finished.
From there, the optics were … strange. Buehler angrily shouted into his glove. The infield converged. Stammen spoke with Buehler for several moments, before Buehler retreated behind the mound. Stammen began walking to the dugout -- without taking the baseball from Buehler.
But Buehler’s day was already done. It was over the moment Stammen emerged from the dugout. The umpiring crew promptly signaled to the bullpen. Stammen, off to the side of the mound, merely shrugged.
Is it possible Stammen forgot that pitching coach Ruben Niebla had already gone out for a mound visit? Maybe. If so, that’s not a great look for the first-year manager.
A likelier scenario is that Stammen was giving a frustrated Buehler some room to vent. Stammen pitched 13 seasons in the big leagues. Buehler himself has nine under his belt. They’re both keenly aware that a second mound visit means that a pitcher must be removed from the game.
Meanwhile, Kyle Hart emerged from the bullpen almost instantly, indicating the move was planned.
Simply put, the Padres were trailing 2-0, and -- given the magnitude of the game amidst a playoff race -- Stammen wanted to make sure it didn’t become 5-0. He felt the best way to do that was to have Hart face CJ Abrams, who was due up. With an off-day Thursday, Stammen could manage Wednesday’s game aggressively with his bullpen.
Here’s the important part: It all worked. Hart escaped the bases-loaded, one-out jam. He would pitch 2 1/3 scoreless innings in relief. The Padres rallied for three runs in the bottom of the third. They scored two more in the fourth and two more in the fifth. In no time, they led, 7-2.
Perhaps tempers were bound to flare on Wednesday. This was the hottest game in Petco Park history -- 95 degrees at first pitch. Buehler runs hot as it is. And it’s not like he was getting knocked around. He’d endured some dreadful batted-ball luck in the inning.
Still, Stammen clearly felt that the game hung in the balance at that moment, and he went to the matchup he felt made the most sense. Can’t argue with the results.