One of the more difficult tasks for a manager is balancing the need for his closer to get enough work to stay sharp against using him too much.
That is the tightrope Clint Hurdle walks with Felipe Vazquez. It is also a big reason why the All-Star closer did not appear in the Pirates’ 6-5 loss to the Cardinals in 10 innings on Monday night at PNC Park.
Vazquez pitched both Saturday and Sunday against the Phillies, throwing a combined 35 pitches. After that workload, Vazquez was concerned he would not be as effective if he pitched on a third straight day.
Thus, Hurdle did not use Vazquez in the ninth inning of a 2-2 game, opting for Kyle Crick. With the score still tied at the end of regulation, Hurdle called on Clay Holmes to pitch the 10th and he gave up Paul Goldschmidt’s game-winning grand slam.
Hurdle also said Vazquez would not have been used in a save situation.
Vazquez has pitched on three consecutive days just once this season. That was from June 21-23 when he worked a combined 2 1/3 scoreless innings and threw a total of 32 pitches. He had just 16 pitches combined in the first two outings.
Conversely, prior to Saturday, Vazquez had not pitched in four days. He doesn’t like to go much longer than that without pitching in a game for fear he might become rusty.
“You’re probably never going to have everything based on using him when you want to use him because you don’t know what’s next,” Hurdle said Tuesday before the Pirates and Cardinals met again. “What you need is honest communication, and we’ve had that since he’s been here. Felipe has always been honest about when he can and can’t go.”
Vazquez has converted 21 of 22 save opportunities and compiled a 1.91 ERA in 39 games.
