Broken telephone: Cleveland sends out wrong pitcher vs. Reds in crunch time
The Cleveland Indians may want to come up with new nicknames for a couple of their bullpen pitchers.
Heading into the ninth inning against the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday with a 4-0 lead thanks to eight shutout innings from Trevor Bauer, the Indians wound up losing to their Ohio neighbors 7-4.
Closer Cody Allen struggled to close out the contest after entering in the ninth, and with the game on the line and All-Star first baseman Joey Votto at the dish, the Indians opted for right-hander Dan Otero instead of a left-handed pitcher against the left-handed-hitting Votto.
Otero allowed the go-ahead run.
Down 4-0, the @Reds put up a 7-spot in the 9th. 👀
— MLB (@MLB) July 11, 2018
Joey Votto provided the dagger. 💪 pic.twitter.com/7l6TAIqxEx
It turns out manager Terry Francona actually wanted southpaw Oliver Perez to enter the game, but there was a communication error between him and pitching coach Carl Willis when Francona asked him to call to the bullpen for "OP" and Willis thought he asked for "OT."
Terry Francona admitted there was a communication mix-up between he and pitching coach Carl Willis in the 9th. Francona wanted “OP” Oliver Perez to warm up. Willis thought he said “OT” Dan Otero. #Indians pic.twitter.com/ukd1JVfvLD
— clevelanddotcom (@clevelanddotcom) July 11, 2018