A tale of two moves: managerial decisions in 6th inning impact Game 2

There's a tendency in big games to overanalyze the effect managers have on the result.

More often than not, it's the players who exact the biggest impact on the final score, and for obvious reasons. But in Wednesday's Game 2 of the World Series, both managers made critical decisions in the sixth inning that could have a significant effect on the series.

Yost brings Herrera in an inning early

For most of the year, Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost stuck with a specific bullpen formula: Kelvin Herrera gets the ball in the seventh, followed by set-up man Wade Davis and closer Greg Holland in the ninth. 

Yost called an audible Wednesday, electing to bring in Herrera with one out in the sixth and two runners on in a 2-2 tie. It would have been easy to let rookie Yordano Ventura work out of the jam - he was at 87 pitches and both baserunners got on through weak contact. The move paid off.

Herrera retired the next two batters and worked around a pair of walks in the seventh to get five important outs. The hard-throwing right-hander retired San Francisco hitters with emphasis, setting a career-high with 14 pitches of at least 100 miles per hour.

(Courtesy: MLB.com)

Yanking Ventura after 5 1/3 also benefits the Royals moving forward by limiting the rookie's workload - he's at over 200 innings for the first time in his professional career - and ensured he exited on a high note ahead of a potential Game 6 start.

Bochy goes with rookie Strickland in one-run game 

Giants manager Bruce Bochy's decision to bring in Hunter Strickland in the sixth inning will haunt the skipper all offseason if the Royals win the series.

Strickland, a hard-throwing right-hander who was pitching in Double-A less than two months ago, entered the game with runners on first and second, one out and the Giants down 3-2.

Following a wild pitch and a two-run double, Royals second baseman Omar Infante drilled a two-run blast to left field and effectively evened the series at 1-1. Strickland's five homers allowed this postseason match a playoff record for relievers. He's also the first reliever to surrender a home run in four different games in the same postseason.

It was a curious move for Bochy, who had several options at his disposal coupled with an off day of rest to temper any concerns over workload. 

Hindsight is 20-20, but it was arguably a mistake bringing in a pitcher who has recently proven to be exceptionally vulnerable to the long ball. Strickland's forgettable outing may end up as the turning point in the series. 

Kansas City's overachieving offense was deflated after managing just four hits off Madison Bumgarner in Game 1, and may have regained its confidence with one five-run inning.