ARLINGTON, Texas — In the eighth inning, with the Diamondbacks up 4–1 over the Rangers, Arizona general manager Mike Hazen made a prediction.
D-Backs left fielder Lourdes Gurriel, Jr. was at the plate with a runner on first and no outs. A three-run lead was nice, but on the heels of their agonizing blown save in Game 1, it certainly wasn’t enough to feel comfortable. Arizona was going to do whatever it could to build the lead. So Hazen turned to assistant general manager Amiel Sawdaye and shared what he was thinking: Gurriel’s going to lay down a sacrifice bunt.
“He goes, ‘Why would he bunt? When was the last time he ever bunted?’” Hazen recalls with a grin. “I was like, I have no idea. But all we do is bunt now. And so I think he’s going to bunt.”
