Alex Avila entered Tuesday nine sacrifice bunts in 12 attempts since 2010, including five against left-handed pitching. When he stepped to the plate in the 11th inning Tuesday night, he had runners at first and second and nobody out, and two chances to get the bunt down against lefty reliever and former teammate Charlie Furbush.
On the flip side, manager Brad Ausmus had right-handed hitting catcher James McCann on his bench if he wanted to take a chance and pinch-hit for Avila. Under a different situation, Ausmus said, he probably would’ve done it. For him, however, that situation was a bunting one.