Two big questions and one giant bad beat came out of San Francisco’s come-from-behind win over the Dodgers Tuesday.
1. What is Rule 8.06?
2. What is wrong with Tim Lincecum?
The answer to No. 1 cost anyone who backed the Dodgers a chance to close the deal. We’re still waiting for the answer to No. 2.
With steady starter Clayton Kershaw on the mound, the Dodgers were small favourites against Lincecum and the Giants. It was the first time all season San Francisco had been an underdog with Lincecum starting.
From the beginning, Lincecum didn’t have his best stuff. He was wild and, more concerning for the Giants, had trouble hitting 90 mph on the radar gun. The Dodgers took advantage, scoring three runs in the first and tacking on two more in the third to take a 5-1 lead.
The frustration mounted for Lincecum who, in the fifth inning, knocked down Matt Kemp and then beaned him on the next pitch. Lincecum claimed it was unintentional, but because Kershaw plunked Andres Torres to lead off the game, there was some doubt.
“It just got away from me,” said Lincecum, who left after surrendering five runs on seven hits and three walks. “I wasn’t throwing at him on purpose at all. I had a hard enough time finding the strike zone, let alone wanting to hit somebody on purpose when we’re down a run.”
Meanwhile, the Dodgers’ ace was rolling. Kershaw steamed into the sixth, before the Giants capitalized on a Xavier Paul error and scored three runs.
Leading 5-4 in the seventh, Kershaw pegged Aaron Rowand and was ejected, along with Dodger manager Joe Torre. That turned out to be the bigger of the ejections.
The Dodger bullpen held the lead and turned it over to closer Jonathan Broxton in the ninth. Broxton wasn’t as efficient as he normally is and worked himself into a bit of a jam. He intentionally walked Aubrey Huff to load the bases with one out. This is when rule 8.06 came into play.
Hitting coach Don Mattingly, who was acting as manager in place of Torre, went to the mound to discuss strategy with Broxton. After talking to Broxton, Mattingly headed back to the dugout. He took two steps off the mound, but turned around to instruct first baseman James Loney how deep to play. Those two steps proved costly.
According to Rule 8.06, a visit to the mound is over after a manager or coach steps off the dirt. So when Mattingly turned back around, he was officially making a second visit. The umpires reportedly were yelling at Mattingly not turn around, but it was too late. Giants’ manager Bruce Bochy had seen the blunder and complained to the umpires, who eventually forced Broxton to leave the game.
“It’s an easy mistake to make. I saw it once he went back to say a few more words,” Bochy told reporters.
In 2006, while managing the Padres, Bochy busted Dodger manager Grady Little for the same violation, forcing him to remove starter Brad Penny.
With Broxton out, Mattingly reluctantly turned the game over to slumping George Sherrill and his 7.38 ERA. Torres promptly cleared the bases with a three-run double, leading the Giants to a 7-5 win and sending Dodger backers to the rule book to lament Rule 8.06.