A failed squeeze play by the Los Angeles Angels during their 7-6 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals Wednesday night left manager Ron Washington fuming afterward.
Luis Guillorme came to the plate with the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth inning and the Angels down by a run. His instructions were simple while facing Cardinals reliever JoJo Romero: squeeze bunt, tie the game.
But Guillorme, who was only acquired by the Angels last week from the Atlanta Braves, could not get the job done. With Zach Neto on the move from third base, a 1-1 slider was missed by Guillorme. Neto was tagged out and Kyren Paris was safe stealing third base.
Four pitches later, Guillorme struck out to end the inning as well as the Angels' chances of tying the game or taking the lead.
The squeeze play didn't work out for the #Angels with the bases loaded and one out in the eighth and Luis Guillorme then struck out to end the inning. Down 7-6. pic.twitter.com/YlJwdBiq5F
— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) May 15, 2024
Washington explained afterward why he called for the squeeze bunt in that situation.
"Lefty on lefty, and with a sinkerballer on a left-hander, I didn't want him to hit into a double play," Washington said. "He can handle the bat. He didn't do the job. It wasn't anything I did wrong. He didn't do the job."
When asked by a reporter if Romero's wildness made the call tougher to execute, Washington disputed that and once again blamed Guillorme.
"Wild? He was throwing it in the strike zone," Washington said. "Why are you making excuses? He was throwing the ball in the strike zone. [Guillorme] did not get the bunt down. Period."
The point by the reporter wasn't inaccurate. Romero had walked two batters — including one on a pitch clock violation — to load the bases just before Guillorme came to the plate. And of his 27 pitches before Guillorme's bunt attempt, only 12 were for strikes.
When asked about his manager's comments, Guillmore said he didn't see what Washington said.
"[Romero] made a good a pitch," Guillorme said. "I didn't get it down I've got to try to put a bat on it. That's it."
The loss dropped the Angels to 15-28 and they remain last in the AL West. They've lost five of their last six games and have only won consecutive games twice this season.
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