There's no point in beating around the end of the game that concluded the Orioles' season Oct. 4. That's not how we do things around here, so let's cut right to the chase and find out exactly why Zach Britton was a non-participant.
Admittedly, it took longer to figure this out than it took to make the two key in-game decisions, one crucial and the other critical, but here is the obvious reason why Britton didn't pitch during the Orioles' 5-2 Wild Card game loss to the Toronto Blue Jays:
Manager Buck Showalter wasn't going to commit to using his closer for more than one inning for the second time in three days -- unless the O's had the lead, as was the case in the regular-season finale at Yankee Stadium Oct. 2.
