Rookie Manager Dave Roberts made his toughest decision of the young season against the San Francisco Giants. Rookie pitcher Ross Stripling had a no hitter through 7 1/3 innings even though he had walked four and gave up a run. Stripling is two years removed from Tommy John surgery and was making his major league debut. He made 100 pitches and Dave Roberts called the decision to remove Stripling a "no brainer." He cited Stripling's health and the fact that it is a long season. After the game, Stripling admitted that he was getting tired.
There is a lot of fans and baseball purists that believe that Stripling should have been allowed to try to finish the no hitter. Whether or not to remove a pitcher or not while he is pitching a no hitter has been long debated and is often included in the discussion of baseball's unwritten rules or "the code." Ross Stripling had the opportunity to make baseball history as well by pitching a no hitter in his major league debut.
I believe that Roberts made the right call and it would be less of an issue if the Dodgers would have held on to win the game. Stripling left in the bottom of the eighth inning with a 2-1 lead and the Dodgers lost 3-2 in ten innings. That is just the first decision by Roberts in a season full of decisions that will be second guessed by fans and the media.
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