NEWSLETTER
Yesterday was a pretty crazy day for baseball. Not only were we less than 24 hours from the 2016 Trade Deadline with rumors flying in every direction, but multiple teams staged exciting, ninth inning comebacks to take home a win.
Below, I’ve collected those three come-back victories, in addition to a bonus highlight from each game. Enjoy.
1. Last night, the Chicago Cubs found themselves down 6-0, after just three innings of play against the Mariners. After repeatedly missing big opportunities throughout the game, they did eventually chip away the lead by three runs, going into the ninth. However, when Kris Bryant led off the ninth with a strikeout, the Cubs win probability (according to FanGraphs) was down to just 1.6%. BUT, a double from Anthony Rizzo, two singles by Ben Zobrist and Addison Russell, a HBP for Jason Heyward, and a wild pitch tied the game at six and they headed into extras. Then, in the bottom of the 12th inning, the Cubs found themselves in a pinch-hit situation with no one left on the bench besides three starting pitchers. So, they called upon Jon Lester (career .051 hitter), and he delivered a wild walk-off squeeze bunt (with two strikes!) scoring Jason Heyward from third.
Check it out:
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Although that was the real highlight from that game, it is worth pointing out that reliever Travis Wood was asked to play left field, after and before pitching, and did so extremely well. In fact, he made an excellent against-the-ivy grab in between appearances on the mound.
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2. Yesterday, the Marlins led the Cardinals all night, before allowing St. Louis to tie it up in the top of the 8th inning on a Stephen Piscotty double-turned-little-league-home-run. Check it out:
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If things worked out in the Cardinals favor, that may have ultimately been the only video I shared on this story. Of course, that’s not where things wound up. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, Adeiny Hechavarria singled on a line drive to Tommy Pham, just moments before Derek Dietrich came off the bench and delivered a game-winning, line-drive triple to the left-center field gap, scoring Hechavarria from first and winning the game. The roller coaster contest had some serious playoff implications too, as the Marlins now lead the Cardinals by one game for the second Wild Card. Here’s the play:
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3. Finally, the Red Sox posted an exciting 9th inning rally after going down 3-0, starting with a two-on, two-out, run-scoring single from Mookie Betts. Following that, Dustin Pedroia took a 1-0 pitch into deep left-center field, giving the Red Sox the lead, 4-3. AND THEN, Xander Boegarts hit a deep home run, to provide the Red Sox with a little extra cushion. Now that’s how you offense:
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But before their comeback, the Red Sox made not one, but two excellent defensive plays at the plate, saving two runs. The first is rather unusual (and a little funny), but the second is down right nasty. Check them both out, below:
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Oh, and also from Last Night:
What you may have missed from Yesterday:
