“I wanted to make them pay.”

…and he did.

That’s what Dodgers second baseman Max Muncy told reporters after the Dodgers exciting come-from-behind win over the AL Central third-place Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field on Thursday afternoon.

In a move that will undoubtedly be questioned for years to come and with his team down 7-5 with two outs in the top of the sixth inning and Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman on second base after a single and a wild pitch by left-handed reliever Bennett Sousa, White Sox manager Tony La Russa had Sousa intentionally walk right-handed-hitting Trea Turner … on a 1-2 count – and instead, take his chances with left-handed-hitting Max Muncy, who had returned from the IL just prior to the game after missing 11 games with left elbow inflammation. Muncy entered Thursday’s game hitting .150 compared to Turner’s .303.

Muncy promptly hit Sousa’s fifth pitch of the at-bat – a 90-MPH slider – over the wall in left-center field for a three-run home run to make it a (then) 10-5 Dodgers lead in the eventual 11-9 Dodgers win.

“Let me ask you a question: Is there some question as to whether that was a good move or not?” La Russa began when asked about his extremely unusual decision. “Do you know what (Turner) hits against left-handed pitching? With 0-1, or two strikes, do you know what he hits? Do you know what Muncy hits with two strikes against left-handed pitching?”

The answer to the La Russa questions is .286, .400, and .227, respectively. Turner is also hitting .256 with a 1-2 count.

As for Muncy, he was hitting .125 against lefties and .097 with two strikes coming into Thursday’s game.

“I mean, is that really a question? Because it was 1-2? Turner with a strike left against left-handers is something you can avoid if you can. And we had an open base, and Muncy happened to be the guy behind him. And that’s the better matchup. If somebody disagrees, that’s the beauty of this game. You’re welcome to it. But that wasn’t a tough call.

“If maybe [Will] Smith was hitting behind him, it’d have been a different thing. But Muncy’s there; it’s an easy call. I mean, it’s an easy call for me. If Turner gets a hit there, I’d be walking into the lake or something because that would’ve been stupid.

“Does anybody in this room really think that Turner should have – even with the count – we should have gone after Turner?”

The room remained silent.

Not so in the stands. There was a White Sox fan who had an issue with La Russa’s logic:

Be that as it may, Max Muncy made Tony La Russa pay for his decision … and dearly.

Play Ball!

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