Padres manager Craig Stammen gets saved from himself by forgotten MLB mound-visit rule

Craig Stammen had the right answer before he left the Padres’ dugout Wednesday. We know that Walker Buehler runs hot, so naturally, he argued. Stammen blinked and an MLB rule had to make the decision for him. It’s a strange managerial sequence that has happened several times this season. The Padres aren’t the only team to get turned around by MLB’s mound-visit rule.

The Padres trailed the Nationals 2-0 in the third inning. Buehler had loaded the bases with one out, and left-handed hitter CJ Abrams was coming to the plate. Stammen wanted Kyle Hart and the favorable left-on-left matchup. Hart was ready and it appeared the decision had been made.

When Stammen reached the mound, Buehler argued that he should remain in the game. That reaction was predictable. Stammen listened and changed his mind. He began walking back toward the dugout without the baseball.

But pitching coach Ruben Niebla had already visited Buehler earlier in the inning. Stammen’s trip counted as the Padres’ second mound visit, which meant Buehler had to leave regardless of what either man wanted.

To be fair, it’s embarrassing. A team fighting for the final NL Wild Card spot cannot have its manager lose track of a basic rule. Stammen is a first-year manager, but September stopped grading on a learning curve weeks ago. Luckily, the White Sox had an even worse fail by doing this very thing on August 7 with their starter Noah Schultz in the first inning.

Still, the forgotten rule pushed Stammen back toward the decision he should have trusted all along.

Padres cannot expect another rule to rescue Craig Stammen in October

Buehler had thrown only 60 pitches, but pitch count wasn’t the pressing issue. The Nats were already up 2-0. One mistake could have broken the game open. Stammen clearly understood that when he left the dugout. The upcoming off-day allowed him to use the bullpen aggressively, and Hart offered the matchup he wanted. It was a playoff-style decision during a game with playoff implications.

Stammen allowed a pitcher’s emotion to pull him away from a sound decision. His relationship with players has been one of his strengths since taking over the Padres, but trust cannot give a veteran starter veto power over the manager in a jam down the stretch. Buehler deserved to make his case. Stammen respectfully needed to listen and take the baseball anyway.

Honestly, the Padres may have been fortunate that the rule removed the choice. The Hart move ended up being brilliant. Hart took it from there. The lefty escaped the bases-loaded jam and gave the Padres 2 1/3 scoreless innings. The Friars answered with three runs in the bottom of the third, kept piling on and eventually cruised to a 9-2 win that completed the sweep of Washington.

Stammen caught three breaks here. First, the mound-visit rule forced his hand, Hart cleaned up the mess and the offense made sure everyone could laugh about it afterward.

Buehler deserves some credit, too. He was clearly frustrated when he left, but he didn’t drag that frustration into the postgame conversation. Instead, he admitted he hadn’t pitched well enough in the third inning to stay out there. That could have become a much bigger story. Buehler made sure it didn’t.

If the Padres reach October, Stammen will have to decide whether Buehler or another starter deserves to face one more hitter. He will have to balance reputation against matchups and a pitcher’s competitive fire against a moment that will be hanging on every pitch. There’s not going to be much room for such negotiation.

Wednesday’s win moved the Padres to 78-68 and completed a 5-1 homestand. With 16 games remaining and only a half-game separating the Padres from Arizona, every managerial choice carries more weight now.

This mistake remained a comedy because Hart slammed the door. If Abrams had emptied the bases, we would be discussing one of the ugliest managerial blunders of the Padres’ season.

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