MILWAUKEE (AP) — Teoscar Hernández watched a replay of the bizarre double play from the NL Championship Series opener only one time as the clip went viral across social media.
No further viewings were needed.
“I saw it once,” for the Dodgers star said Tuesday, a day after Los Angeles overcame the 8-6-2 double play in a 2-1 win. “Once the play was over, I realized I just (messed) up. Just one of those things that you don’t have to see it over and over to realize that you made a mistake.”
Hernández walked starting the fourth and was on third with the bases loaded and one out when Max Muncy hit a drive that appeared to be heading over the center-field wall. Milwaukee’s Sal Frelick tried to rob him of a grand slam, and the ball popped out of his glove and hit the top of the wall before the center fielder caught it in the air.
Los Angeles’ runners had headed back to their bases to tag up, believing Frelick made the catch. Hernández still had plenty of time to tag up and score, but he didn’t head home fast enough. Frelick threw to shortstop Joey Ortiz, whose relayed to catcher William Contreras for a forcout at the plate.
Contreras then completed the double play by heading to third base and forcing out Will Smith, who had been at second when the play started.
“It was one of those plays that, if you would have asked me two days ago what would you do in this situation, I would say as soon as the ball touched the glove, I would go,” Hernández said. “But in the moment, I got blocked, I think, and there’s not an explanation. I just (messed) up. It’s that simple.
“I don’t think there’s going to be any explanation that is going to be accurate. I saw it when the ball hit the glove, I went. Then I saw it bounced off the glove. And I just reacted bad. Just one of those moments, you block your mind. But there’s nobody to blame but myself. And it happens.”
Ortiz was asked Tuesday whether he had watched a replay and noticed anything that wasn’t immediately apparent at the time it happened.
“Sal did make a pretty funny face,” Ortiz said. “That’s all over the social media right now. … But, no, I’ve never seen a play like that. It was a pretty crazy play to be involved in.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after Monday’s game that Hernández simply froze.
“Teo knows the rule. I think right there he had just a little bit of a brain fart, appreciating that when it does hit the glove, you can tag (up) there,” Roberts said. “But then he tagged, did it correctly, then saw he didn’t catch it, (and) he went back. That was the mistake. But he owned it. And after that, there’s nothing else you can do about it.”
Muncy was credited with a grounded into double play with a 404-foot drive that never touched the ground. There had not been an 8-6-2 double play in the postseason over the last 35 years, the Elias Sports Bureau said. Those type of official scoring details are not always clear in records going back any further.
The most recent 8-6-2 double play in the regular season involved a ball hit by Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa to Cincinnati center fielder Ken Griffey Jr. in April 2004 — though that one ended with a tag at the plate.
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