Bob Lutz: Madison Bumgarner makes second-guessing Royals’ Ned Yost irrelevant

Ned Yost is like clockwork. You can always depend on the Royals manager to give fans, media and maybe even his own players and front office lots to grouse about during a game.

His strategical decisions often come under fire. In this age of instant social media, Yost is good business for Twitter.

And, right on schedule, Yost made a few head-scratching calls Sunday night during Game 5 of the World Series.

Why send Jarrod Dyson to the plate in the fifth inning with a runner in scoring position against Giants ace Madison Bumgarner? Let’s be real, Dyson had no chance.

Why double switch in the eighth inning with Jayson Nix?

Why have Billy Butler lead off the eighth as a pinch-hitter with the Royals down by two runs? Isn’t he best suited to go up there with runners in scoring position or at least a runner on base?

Why put right-handed reliever Kelvin Herrera back out there to start the eighth inning after he got through the seventh unscathed?

Part of baseball’s enjoyment is second-guessing. We’ve been doing it for more than a century, wishing we could get inside the heads of managers to better understand just what the heck they’re doing.

But while many Kansas City fans were up in arms on Twitter about once again being “Yosted,” there was a pitcher on the mound for San Francisco. And he “Bumgarnered” the Royals with a four-hit shutout, continuing his freaky postseason dominance and pitching his fourth World Series gem.

Albert Einstein could have been calling the shots in Kansas City’s dugout with Sir Isaac Newton as his bench coach and it wouldn’t have mattered.

Bumgarner barely gave the Royals a sniff. Give Kansas City starter James Shields credit for pitching well; he gave up a scratch run in the second and KC’s defense had a rare meltdown in the fourth that helped the Giants score another run.

Against Bumgarner, though, you have to be perfect. He leaves no room for error. Kansas City got him for three singles and an Omar Infante double. Bumgarner didn’t increase the Royals’ hopes by walking anyone. He threw 117 pitches and most of them were perfect.

The good news for Royals fans is that Bumgarner might be done for the World Series now. Or perhaps not. Who really knows? Mr. Bionic Arm will probably try to find a way to get back out there if there’s a Game 7 on Wednesday night at Kauffman Stadium.

Kansas City is going home now. The Royals won one game in San Francisco, assuring themselves that they would get the Series back to Kauffman. And nobody even remotely resembling Bumgarner will pitch for the Giants in the next two games.

In fact, Kansas City has already beaten Jake Peavy and Tim Hudson, the two pitchers lined up for Games 6 and 7. So this thing is far from over.

Remember 1985? The Royals trailed St. Louis 3-2, but came home to win the last two games.

Kansas City has Yordano Ventura and Jeremy Guthrie ready to go, but what will Yost do with the lineup after switching things up drastically for the three games in San Francisco, where pitchers hit?

We know Butler will be back in the DH spot after batting once in San Francisco. He struck out against Bumgarner in the eighth. Will Yost stick with Dyson in center field to enhance the defense or will he re-insert Nori Aoki back into the No. 2 spot in the batting order to play right field?

With Yost, you never quite know what you’re going to get.

I say he was in a tough spot Sunday night after utilizing left-hander Brandon Finnegan for 32 stressful and mostly unsuccessful pitches in Game 4 on Saturday night. In double-switching, he hoped Herrera could get through two innings of relief so that he could save options for later in the game and perhaps even extra innings should the Royals get something going against Bumgarner.

That didn’t happen and Herrera, who has been pushed hard in the postseason, appeared gassed in the eighth, when he allowed leadoff singles to Pablo Sandoval and Hunter Pence.

Yost had no choice but to bring the hook. Davis, whose routine is to start the eighth inning, this time was summoned with runners on base. And while he struck out Brandon Belt for the first out, he gave up a long double to Juan Perez to make it 4-0. Brandon Crawford followed with a hit to drive in his third run and the ninth inning became a formality.

Heck, with Bumgarner out there, the game might have been a formality.

In four World Series starts – two against the Royals, one against Detroit in 2012 and one against Texas in 2010 – Bumgarner is 4-0 and has allowed 12 hits in 31 innings. You weren’t being presumptuous if you penciled him in for two wins before the World Series started.

He has them now.

What the Royals can’t allow is for Peavy or Hudson to put up a W.

This story was originally published October 26, 2014 at 11:14 PM with the headline "Bob Lutz: Madison Bumgarner makes second-guessing Royals’ Ned Yost irrelevant."