Kurt Suzuki’s gamble highlights growing pains Angels must work through

Los Angeles Angels manager Kurt Suzuki is in his first year on the job. For any first-time manager, there are going to be some growing pains when it comes to bullpen usage. Suzuki learned a very important lesson on Tuesday as he got burned by using left-handed reliever Drew Pomeranz against four straight right-handed hitters, which was a gamble that did not pay off.

The Angels were taking on the Toronto Blue Jays, and Pomeranz entered in the top of the eighth inning. He got Myles Straw to fly out, but then allowed a double to Ernie Clement, intentionally walked Vladimir Guerrero Jr., allowed a double to Lenyn Sosa, and a single to Eloy Jimenez. Pomeranz entered the game tied and left with the Blue Jays up 4-1, and Toronto would go on to win.

Suzuki should have played the matchups vs. Blue Jays

That’s just not a great strategy from Suzuki. Pomeranz is his setup man, but he’s putting him in a position to fail by making him face four right-handed hitters in a row. So far this season, lefties are hitting just .111 off him while righties are hitting .320. In his career, lefties hit .219 against Pomeranz while righties hit .250. 

Suzuki explained his decision after the game by saying that he liked Pomeranz going against Toronto’s best hitters. That’s all well and good, but he has to be thinking about the matchups a little bit more. 

Chase Silseth may have pitched on Monday night, but he only threw 12 pitches and is right-handed. Suzuki could have called upon him, as he has a 2.08 ERA on the season and may have given the Angels a better chance against that part of the lineup.

It’s easy to second-guess bullpen decisions, and it is worth pointing out that Suzuki has not exactly been dealt the best hand when it comes to the bullpen. Several guys he was counting on ahead of the season are hurt, like Robert Stephenson and Ben Joyce. Jordan Romano looked really good as the closer early on, but he has been shaky in his last few outings.

It’s not easy having to build a bullpen on the fly, especially for a first-time manager like Suzuki. There are inevitably going to be lessons to learn and bumps along the way, so he has to learn from Tuesday’s game and apply those lessons going forward if he wants to stick around for more than just one season. 

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