Gabe Kapler Explains Why He Pinch Hit for Brandon Belt

On the heels of splitting a road series against the San Diego Padres, the San Francisco Giants returned home looking to put damage on the struggling Arizona Diamondbacks. Unfortunately, the D-Backs kicked off the series with a dramatic 4-3 win on Monday night.

The Giants' series-opening loss was not without drama, either, thanks to a perplexing move from manager Gabe Kapler.

Kapler pinch hit for his team's hottest hitter, Brandon Belt, in the 8th inning as the Giants trailed 4-2. Keep in mind, this was with two runners in scoring position, no outs, and a hitter that was already 3-for-3 on the day.

Following the loss, Kapler explained his reasoning.

A bit obvious in retrospect, but it oddly didn't occur to me so maybe it didn't occur to you: Gabe Kapler said he pinch hit Slater for Belt and not Gonzalez because Belt was Mantiply's third batter of the night. Went for the matchup when AZ couldn't counter with a RHP.
— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) July 12, 2022

Giants News

Kapler revealed his intention to work righty swinging Austin Slater an at-bat against the left-handed throwing Joe Mantiply. The move especially perplexed Giants fans because Luis Gonzalez, another lefty bat, was on deck. But it came down to a simple rule.

Belt was Mantiply's third batter of the inning. Had Kapler allowed Belt to conclude his at-bat, and instead pinch hit Slater for Gonzalez, the Diamondbacks easily would have countered with a bullpen move for a righty arm.

The explanation makes sense, but can still be questioned considering San Francisco didn't complete the comeback. Slater ended up plating one of the runs with a ground out, but the Giants still fell 4-3 in the contest.

The two sides are back in action on Tuesday night. FanDuel Sportsbook's MLB odds show the Giants as -215 runline favorites.

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Adam Taylor McKillop is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Adam Taylor also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username atmckillop. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

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