Baseball’s book of unwritten rules just got a little fatter and a little more unkempt. In a battle of Colbys, Rangers starter Colby Lewis is upset that Blue Jays outfielder Colby Rasmus laid down a bunt with his team up 2-0 with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning of Saturday’s game. Rasmus placed the ball to the third base side of the mound and reached safely, but was stranded after Dan Johnson struck out.
Lewis took the loss as the Rangers fell 4-1. He allowed two runs on eight hits and three walks while striking out five in five innings of work. He is now 6-7 with a 6.37 ERA and a 78/29 K/BB ratio in 89 innings over 17 starts.
Lewis explained why he took offense to the bunt after the game. Via MLB.com’s Chris Toman:“I told [Rasmus] I didn’t appreciate it,” Lewis said. “You’re up by two runs with two outs and you lay down a bunt. I don’t think that’s the way the game should be played.”
When pressed further on what the problem with Rasmus’ bunt was, Lewis insinuated that the outfielder put himself before his team.
“I felt like you have a situation where there is two outs, you’re up two runs, you have gotten a hit earlier in the game off me, we are playing the shift, and he laid down a bunt basically simply for average,” Lewis said.
Lewis also explained that, because Rasmus didn’t attempt to steal on either of the first two pitches Lewis threw to Johnson, Rasmus was simply looking to pad his batting average. Following the game, in which he went 2-for-4, Rasmus is batting .223. He has yet to attempt to steal a base this season.
Lewis could have been steaming from the beating he took at the hands of the Angels on July 10. He allowed 13 runs in 2 1/3 innings in his final start before the All-Star break. One thing is for sure: his line of reasoning sure doesn’t make any sense. If Rangers pitchers don’t want to deal with bunts, then they shouldn’t be employing infield shifts. Rasmus was doing what he felt gave him the best chance to reach base and thus give his team the best chance of padding the lead.
