The bullpen door swung open, and out jogged Scott Alexander late Sunday afternoon. A baseball game tied, the Royals on the verge of a three-game sweep, manager Ned Yost called on his sinker-ball specialist to neutralize the Blue Jays’ powerful lineup in the top of the sixth inning.
The tactic seemed mostly sound. In 26 innings this season, Alexander had logged a 1.38 ERA, controlling hitters with a darting sinker that reaches the strike zone then disappears. He is 27 years old and pitching the best season of his life, a performance built on sinker after sinker. On a Sunday at Kauffman Stadium, the combination of sinkers, a tight strike zone and a porous defense turned a sound decision into a disastrous one.