JUPITER, Fla. — With the bases loaded and his pitch count climbing, Jack Flaherty had the choice of getting through the moment or getting deeper into the game.
He could not do both.
Using an option introduced a few years ago to spring training games, Flaherty and manager Oliver Marmol opted to turn the mess of the fourth inning over to another pitcher. Let that young lad tidy it up, if possible, and then Flaherty would take over with a clean start to the fifth inning. That would allow the right-hander to build his targeted pitch count and also add in another warmup and inning to his workload.