Matheny showed his stripes in the bottom of the 5th inning with his team already down by three runs. There was a runner on first base, one out and his relief pitcher was due up. Rather than pinch hit, he elected to have his pitcher attempt a sac bunt. That is a terrible play!
First of all, bunting with one out is a marginal play at best, even with a pitcher at the plate. In a neutral game situation, you decrease your chances of winning by almost 2%, as compared to a league-average batter swinging away. Down 3-0 and the cost is even greater than that. In a normal, regular season game where the starter expects to stay in the game for a while, we tolerate a sac bunt with one out (technically, a decent-hitting pitcher should not even bunt with one out). In an important postseason game and with a reliever coming up, letting him hit/bunt is intolerable.
If Matheny was afraid to burn another pitcher, he could have left Wainwright in the game in the top of the inning and then pinch hit for him in the bottom (or done a double switch). However, given that he already replaced him with Gonzales, it is a no-brainer to pinch hit for Gonzales in that spot. You simply can't be wasting outs with a three-run deficit, even in the 5th inning. And with one out, where the sac bunt is a marginal play in normal circumstances, that decision was simply inexcusable and evinces Matheny's inexperience and ineptitude.
