Dodgers News: Butera Discusses Key Stolen Base In Loss
Jamey Wright was on the mound for the Dodgers in the bottom of the 10th and allowed Will Venable to reach on a leadoff single. With the Padres getting the winning run on base with no outs for a second straight inning, Wright then went to work against pinch-hitter Rymer Liriano.
Liriano battled Wright to a full count before being called out on strikes on the seventh pitch of the at-bat. Venable was running on the pitch and successfully moved into scoring position without a throw from Drew Butera.
Following the loss, Butera explained his reasoning for not throwing down to second base, via Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
In my head it was a borderline pitch and I was getting ready to throw and Liriano stepped forward and the situation wasn’t good to throw,” Butera said. “I didn’t want to throw over or around him and throw it away. I erred on the side of caution. It is what it is.”
Butera was setup low and on the outside corner, but Wright’s pitch wound up inside and a bit high. Home plate umpire’s Todd Tichener’s was a bit delayed and Liriano instinctively took a step forward after what he believed was ball four.
While Liriano’s actions may have prevented Butera from attempting to catch Venable stealing, neither the catcher or manager Don Mattingly made an issue on the play. Venable arriving safely at second base proved costly for the Dodgers as Alexi Amarista followed with the game-winning single to center field.
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Butera! Ya gotta try! Take the interference call…and “it is what it is,”…IS a teenager level excuse
Perhaps Butera should have signaled to Mattingly and tried for the interference call. If they got it, it could have made a difference in the game. But it is a moot point now.