Anyone else think that MLB managers tend to make decisions based on helping a player earn some sort of statistic rather than doing what's best for the team?
Just before the 9th inning, my wife asked me if I thought they should leave Stro in. I said that I think they should let someone else pitch the 9th. He did well, so let's leave on a high note. I said that if he got into trouble, his pitch count would be high and they'd have to pull him, and for the first game back, we're better off letting him just call it a game.
I understand if someone's throwing a no hitter that you've gotta leave them in the game... but in this case, I feel like Stroman pitched the 9th because the manager wanted him to get a complete game because it makes for a nice statistic.
I feel like managers also do stuff like this to try to get their closers a lot of saves. They don't bring closers in if it's not a "save situation"... but when it's a 3 run lead, they will use their closer because it gets him a save. I think that if it's a 3 run lead or a 4 run lead... the logic for using a certain pitcher would probably be pretty similar if your goal is to win games.