When Detroit sold out to cut down the lead runner in the 10th inning Sunday, Patrick Bailey had the answer ready.
Bailey had already shown bunt with the winning run on second base when the Tigers shifted into the wheel play, sending both corner infielders charging toward the plate. He pulled the bat back, stayed composed and drove a single through the middle, turning the defense’s gamble into Cleveland’s opening.
The move is more familiar as a “slash” in today’s game, though it used to be called a “butcher boy.” It’s a look that doesn’t come around much anymore, but the Guardians had a reason to keep it in the toolbox.
“We’ve gotten burnt by the wheel play twice now this year,” manager Stephen Vogt said. “And so we had talked with our hitters about the possibility of the slash.”
Bailey was the right guy in the right spot. Vogt had already given him the freedom to read the defense and decide in the moment.
“I’m just reacting on the defense,” Bailey said. “If the defense doesn’t do the wheel, I bunt. If they do the wheel, I pull it back and slash it.”
Vogt said that kind of feel is part of being a complete hitter.
“To me, it’s just being a baseball player,” Vogt said. “I think it’s something that you don’t see often, but it’s definitely something that every hitter should possess the ability to do.”
For Bailey, the play felt like something he had dusted off from another era. He said he hadn’t used it much since high school and college.
“That was a first for me,” Bailey said. “You see the wheel play and the infield’s open. Make contact and it should be a good thing.”
It wasn’t automatic, though. Vogt said Bailey looked rushed on the first pitch before settling down after checking his swing on the next one.
“It’s very difficult, but he stayed calm,” Vogt said. “When he checked his swing on the second one, I was like, ‘All right, he’s where he needs to be.’”
Once Bailey put the ball back through the middle, the winning run moved to third and Daniel Schneemann finished the job with a walk-off single in Cleveland’s 3-2 win. It was the Guardians’ third walk-off victory in four games against Detroit, and in all three, Cleveland never led until the final at-bat.
Bailey’s timing has been sharp lately, too. He’s 11-for-29 (.379) with two home runs and seven RBI over his last 12 games.
The slash may sit untouched for long stretches, but Sunday was a clean reminder of why Vogt wants it in the arsenal.
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