I can't believe Buck pushed Chen that far again

[Frobby]

I defended Buck's decision to leave Chen in the last game, but I can't believe he did it again. Unlike Hosmer, Castro doesn't hit lefties well, but even so -- 119 pitches? No way I would have done that. To me, today was the worse decision, but Buck got the better result.

[waroriole]

Yeah, it didn't make sense. Why not bring in O'Day for the full inning?

[Rene88]

Nobody did, horrible call.

[CA-ORIOLE]

I will say one thing. Not that long ago quite a few people were saying Chen was good for 6 innings and 90 pitches. He clearly can do more than that.

[Moose Milligan]

IIRC, 15-20 years ago, 120 pitches seemed to be the norm.

[Frobby]

By the way, this was an outstanding outing for Chen. I love watching him pitch.

[Pruke]

We won. Chen is low on pitches for the season. I don't have an issue.

[UpstateNYfan]

This was strictly a BS "see I was right move". See, Chen can be effective into the 8th. Salvation for leaving him in against Hosmer.

Why did DD make the recent trade if he isn't used in the 8th inning?

It makes no sense.

[Orioles4Life21]

I personally would have taken him out when he gave up the two out double in the 7th.

[Pruke]

Complaints about Buck when we lose, I get it. When we win? I don't. Whatever.

[ShaneDawg85]

I don't disagree with anyone who will argue Chen should be more than a 6 inning pitcher. I think he has the stuff to do it and has a track record to do it, albeit from another country. That said, he was over 100 pitches heading into the 8th. You have a rested O'Day in the bullpen, you traded for Rodriguez, you can mix and match Matusz or Patton with O'Day, you can do several things. Why would you bring Chen out to pitch the 8th given all that, and he just did it in his last start and it had terrible results? I know this is the Astros we're talking about and they're not even on the Royals level, but I still just don't get it. If that had been against a better team, like it was with the Royals, it very easily could have gone the other way.

[ShaneDawg85]

Complaints about Buck when we lose, I get it. When we win? I don't. Whatever.

Because the exact same thing happened in his last start when Chen was clearly gassed and the numbers show he struggles pitching past the 6th inning and it failed terribly. This decision, win or lose, is fair game.

[Frobby]

Complaints about Buck when we lose, I get it. When we win? I don't. Whatever.

I prefer to question the manager's decisions when they work out, since nobody can accuse me of second guessing him based on a bad result. Good result does not necessarily mean good decision

[VeveJones007]

Just a dumb move. Forget this game and think about how this pitching staff would look without Chen the rest of the year. With a rested pen, there's NO good excuse to risk Chen's health like that.

[Basketeer]

For what it's worth, Chen's fastball hadn't noticeably depreciated by the time Buck pulled him. And Chen is a lot fresher at this point in the season than guys who've played all year.

I think, if anything, it proves that Chen can go the distance. I would've probably brought out O'Day to start the 8th, but I'm also not the manager of the Baltimore Orioles.