...I don't know how to explain it any better...the stats show that bunting in that situation does not give you a better chance of scoring.
1. Regardless of what some may think, Gardner is simply not a good bunter, he's a fast runner...and I've seen him butcher many bunt attempts.
2. A sacrifice bunt results in an out 96% of the time. And if the bunt goes as it generally does Gardner would be out and the runners would move up to 2nd and 3rd...and Showalter would surely have intentionally walked Judge again which would then bring up Stanton again who had already struck out 4 times...so where's the advantage of bunting?...where's the rationale?
3. A sacrifice bunt also results in the lead runner being thrown out 17% of the time...and that % would be even higher with a slow ass runner like Romine and if Boone called for a bunt in that situation he also should have pinch run for Romine.
4. Gardner, as I said is a fast runner and should have been swinging away because he is a contact hitter and it is very unlikely he would have hit into a DP. With a 2-0 count he watched as a FB right down the middle go by him for a called strike (if he was bunting he should have been bunting then) and then promptly tried to bunt a splitter out of the strike zone (would made the count 3-1) and then tried to bunt another splitter with TWO strikes.
...we can argue back and forth about what might have happened but that fact is that you cannot prove a negative and you cannot assume the pitcher to make an error on an ill advised bunt play.
nagdabit....
