Rob Thomson makes another costly decision during NLDS Game 4

Rob Thomson’s “greatest hits” tour is continuing.

The Philadelphia Phillies manager Thomson was once again scrutinized over a crucial decision that he made in Game 4 of the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday. Philadelphia was nursing a 1-0 lead during the bottom of the seventh inning at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif.

But Phillies starter Cristopher Sanchez, who had twirled a scoreless gem up to that point, put Dodgers runners on first and second with one out. Thomson then pulled Sanchez from the game and inserted reliever Jhoan Duran.

While that wasn’t a bad decision on its own, it was what Thomson had Duran do that drew backlash. After Duran got Andy Pages to ground out, Shohei Ohtani stepped up to the plate for the Dodgers.

Curiously, Thomson opted to intentionally walk Ohtani to load the bases. Mookie Betts, the next batter for the Dodgers, then ended up drawing a walk to force in a run and tie the game at 1-1. 

The Dodgers went on to win the game, 2-1, in extra innings.

Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson criticized over controversial decision

Thomson heard it over social media for the decision to intentionally walk Ohtani. Many users cited Ohtani’s poor performance during this series against the Phillies (going 1-for-17 up to that point), and the fact that there were two outs at the time (with the intentional walk then pushing the tying run up another 90 feet to third base).