SAN FRANCISCO — The Arizona Diamondbacks are trying to bring Cuban-born sensation Yasmany Tomas along slowly.
Well, that was the plan, anyway.
The strategy went out the window Thursday night.
After not starting the 24-year-old in his first two major league games, Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale threw Tomas into a key situation in the 11th inning Thursday against the San Francisco Giants.
With the bases loaded, two outs and the game tied at 5-5, Hale only had two players available off his bench to pinch hit: Tomas and backup catcher Jordan Pacheco.
When Pacheco popped out of the dugout, no one was surprised. After all, bringing Tomas along slowly probably didn’t include using him in such a tense moment on the road against the defending World Series champs.
However, Hale changed his mind before Pacheco reached the plate, sending Tomas up out to face Giants left-hander Javier Lopez.
Tomas grounded sharply back to the mound, stranding the three runners.
An inning later, the Diamondbacks scored twice, then held off the Giants’ final comeback attempt for a 7-6 win.
Now that the shackles are off, Tomas is expected to make his first big-league start later in the San Francisco series, possibly as early as Friday night.