CHICAGO (670 The Score) -- In a tense postgame media session Thursday, White Sox manager Tony La Russa strongly defended his decision from the sixth inning to intentionally walk Dodgers star shortstop Trea Turner on a 1-2 count to instead face slugger Max Muncy, who followed with a three-run home run. Muncy's blast proved to be the difference as Los Angeles earned an 11-9 win at Guaranteed Rate Field and La Russa came under intense scrutiny for his strategy backfiring.
With two outs in the top of the sixth inning, White Sox left-hander Bennett Sousa threw a wild pitch that allowed Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman to advance to second, which left first base vacated. Despite Sousa having the advantage with the 1-2 count against Turner, La Russa held up four fingers from the White Sox dugout and called for the intentional walk.
“I was just confused,” Turner said. “That was it, really. I didn’t know if I should go to first or not.”
Muncy, who was activated from the injured list Thursday, entered the day hitting .150 with a .591 OPS on the season. In defending the choice, La Russa pointed to the matchup with the left-hander Sousa against the lefty-swinging Muncy, who's hitting .125 against southpaws this season. Later, Muncy would point out his struggles were due to a lingering elbow injury that he feels has since overcome.
Muncy connected on a three-run home run to left field, which at the time gave the Dodgers a 10-5 lead.
While Muncy's numbers had been poor this season, the career splits of Turner and Muncy in their given situations didn't support La Russa's thinking. Turner has hit .258 with a .310 on-base percentage and .390 slugging percentage on 1-2 counts against left-handers in his career, according to veteran baseball writer Joe Sheehan. Muncy has hit .251 with a .365 on-base percentage and .492 slugging percentage against left-handers in his career.
“Is there some question about whether that was a good move or not?” La Russa said during a postgame press conference in which he became clearly frustrated and questioned reporters.
“I mean, is that really a question? Because it was 1-2? Turner with a strike left against a left-hander is something you want to avoid if you can. We had an open base and Muncy happened to be the guy behind him, and that’s a better matchup.
“If somebody disagrees, that’s the beauty of this game, you’re welcome to it. But that wasn’t a tough call.
“If (Will) Smith was hitting behind him, it would’ve been a different thing. But Muncy is there. It’s an easy call. I mean, it’s an easy call for me. If Turner (gets) a hit there, I’d walking into the lake or something because that would be stupid.”
The 77-year-old La Russa also defended his decision to leave in right-hander Dylan Cease during the fifth inning despite his rising pitch count. Cease struck out Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts to secure the second out with two runners on base. The Dodgers then followed with a double, single, double and a walk before La Russa removed Cease, who gave up six runs – but none earned due to poor White Sox defense – in 4 2/3 innings while throwing 110 pitches. The Dodgers television broadcast expressed astonishment that La Russa let Cease pitch run into trouble without having a reliever warmed up sooner.
Thursday marked the latest challenging moment for La Russa, who was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014 and came out of retirement to manage the White Sox in 2021.
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Though Muncy was visibly animated after crossing home plate on his homer in the sixth inning – he appeared to yell profanities toward La Russa and the White Sox dugout – he admitted that the decision to face him over Turner made sense. Muncy has been more successful against left-handers (.857 OPS) than right-handers (.832 OPS) in his career, but he downplayed the significance of his past performance.
"What have you done for me now, not what have you done for me in the past,” Muncy said. “That’s how this sport is. I've sucked, quite frankly, up to this point.
“If you’re a manager and you look at what I’ve done up to this point this year, that’s where I say the baseball mind in me understands it. You have me on deck, get a base open. I don't know if walking somebody with two strikes is exactly the right call, but I understood it."
Muncy didn't remember exactly what he said in the moment of excitement as he crossed home plate, but many of his Dodgers teammates were well aware after seeing a viral video shortly after the game.
“It’s all over the internet,” Turner said with a laugh.
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago’s sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670.