At simply concerning the worst time, Addison Barger made a basic blunder.
Standing on second base within the ninth inning Friday and representing the tying run in Sport 6 of the World Collection, the second-year participant noticed Andres Gimenez loft an 81-mph looper towards left subject at Rogers Centre.
Barger thought the ball would discover grass, aggressively transferring about midway towards third base.
But it surely hung up.
Barger, standing in no-man's land, didn't have sufficient time to retreat.
Double play. Sport over. Sport 7, Saturday night time in Toronto.
“I used to be fairly shocked he received to it,” Barger mentioned after the 3-1 loss to the Dodgers, per ESPN. “Off the bat, I believed it was going to go (proper) over the shortstop's head. I didn't assume it was going to journey that far.
“It was sort of a nasty learn.”
If the Blue Jays can't prime the Dodgers at residence Saturday night time, Barger's baserunning mistake and the bad-luck ruling moments earlier than on his double that received caught beneath the wall will perpetually be Toronto “What ifs?”
Trailing, 3-1, within the ninth with a person on first and no outs, Barger hit a ball into the left-center hole that received caught beneath the wall, leading to a floor rule double.
Pinch runner Myles Straw scored simply on the play earlier than the umpires returned him to 3rd base to offer the Blue Jays runners on second and third with no outs.
Tyler Glasnow retired Ernie Clement on a pop-up for the primary out. That's when Gimenez stepped to the plate for his fateful at-bat.
The overhead view exhibits Barger taking a powerful lead through the pitch after which advancing even additional towards third base, whereas Dodgers left subject Kiké Hernandez got here in and caught the ball.
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Hernandez's momentum taking him towards the bag and Barger's momentum taking him the opposite approach, allowed the throw to beat the runner, with Dodgers second baseman Miguel Rojas making a pleasant snag.
“It's a troublesome learn. Kiké taking part in shallow and one out you're considering rating. He made a extremely good play,” Blue Jays supervisor John Schneider mentioned. “It's such a tweener. He made a superb play, good throw. Good play by Rojas, too. Wild. Wild solution to end it, for positive.”
Had Barger not been doubled up, the Blue Jays would have ALCS hero George Springer due up with an opportunity to probably finish the sequence or a minimum of tie the sport.
As a substitute, they will solely hope that play isn't one that may perpetually for the mistaken causes.
Mentioned Blue Jays infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa to ESPN: “I believed it was getting down 1,000 p.c.”
