The Dodgers won on Tuesday evening and any way you slice it, that’s the bottom line – especially when clinging to a minuscule 2.5-game lead over their division rival San Francisco Giants. But in spite of Tuesday’s 5-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds, there is little doubt that Dodgers manager Don Mattingly’s decision to remove recently acquired left-hander Alex Wood with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning and a runner on first base with 2015 Home Run Derby winner Todd Frazier coming to the plate in a 5-0, four-hit shutout was perhaps the most unpopular decision of the season in the eyes of most Dodger fans.

Although Wood had just allowed a two-out single to Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips, he had – to that point – thrown only 88 pitches. He had, as noted, allowed no runs and only four hits with three walks and four strikeouts. But perhaps more importantly, Wood had already limited the ever-dangerous Frazier to only one hit – a harmless leadoff double in the bottom of the second inning – in his three plate appearance while walking him once and striking him out in his previous at-bat.

But in spite of the fact that Wood was pitching the best game of his three-year MLB career and well on his way towards his first-ever complete game shutout, Mattingly yanked the visibly upset 24-year-old Charlotte, NC native opting to have the always volatile Chris Hatcher pitch to Frazier instead – this in spite of Wood desperately pleading with Mattingly to allow him to finish the inning.

It was painful watching Alex Wood lose his plea to remain in the game, especially after repeatedly asking Mattingly “Please.” (Video capture courtesy of SportsNet LA)

As if on cue, Hatcher promptly gave up a double to Frazier, scoring Phillips from first base for what would be the Reds only run of the game – a run which, of course, was charged to Alex Wood not Chris Hatcher. With the damage done, especially to Wood’s confidence, Mattingly immediately replaced Hatcher with left-hander J.P. Howell, who got Reds right-fielder Jay Bruce to ground out to first base to end the inning without further damage. It was the seventh inherited runner that Hatcher has allowed to score this season and came on the heels of Sunday’s 10-inning 3-2 loss to the Houston Astros in which Hatcher gave up the game-winning walk-off home run to Astros catcher Jason Castro.

As expected, social media exploded, first when Mattingly remove Alex Wood and even more so when Chris Hatcher had yet another failure.

Twitter became quite active when Mattingly removed Alex Wood from Tuesday’s game.

Mattingly was quick to dismiss the notion that he had made a poor decision when the ends justified the means – this in spite of the damage he may have done to Wood’s self confidence.

“To be honest, I waited too long,” Mattingly said after the game about his decision. “[Wood] wasn’t going to get Frazier again, he had too good of swings. He wanted to stay in, I like that, but I didn’t feel he had enough to get through him again. The swings Todd had the first two times, he was right on pitches, I don’t want to give them a chance to get back in right there.”

Was Mattingly in the restroom when Wood struck out Frazier in the fourth inning? Yes, Frazier had “too good of swings” when he doubled off of Wood in the second inning, but he has “too good of swings” off of everybody – including Chris Hatcher, against whom Frazier was 1 for 2 with a (wait for it) double prior to Tuesday’s game.

As you would expect, the young left-hander took the high road when asked about being removed from the best game of his career and denied a shot at his first career complete game shutout.

“I felt pretty good, but that’s how it goes sometimes,” Wood told ESPN’s Mark Saxon after the game.

But alas, the Dodgers won and Mattingly’s questionable decision is now nothing more than a distant memory.

…until the next one.