Before yesterday’s Giants/Dodgers series kicked off, the @SFGiants Twitter account sent out this prescient GIF:
Here we go! #BeatLA pic.twitter.com/DllZot8ryh
— San Francisco Giants (@SFGiants) April 25, 2017
Not only was the tweet accurate – the Giants beat the Dodgers 2-1 – Buster Posey had a lot to do with it (naturally).
Aside from going 2-4 at the plate, Posey had a couple of late-inning throwouts in huge moments (including the final out of the game!) that swung the Giants’ chances of winning in a huge way.
Here’s a look at both:
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The first throw out came in the eighth inning: With Corey Seager at the plate, Chris Taylor led off from first and decided to test Posey’s arm (does that ever end well?). Of course, Posey let one rip, the throw was close enough, and Taylor ended the inning.
Getting caught there dropped the Dodgers chances of winning by 5.6% points. And when you consider that the hitter at the plate, Seager, is one of the most dangerous in the game, it was probably a bit more than that.
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The second throwout came on the last play of the game: With two outs and Adrian Gonzalez at the plate, Justin Turner fell asleep at second base … in scoring position … in the ninth inning … against their biggest rivals. Posey made him pay. Getting caught off the bag there took the Dodgers chances of winning from 10.7% to, well, 0%.
All together, Posey’s two throw outs shrunk the Dodgers’ chances of winning by 16.3% points! That’s absolutely insane … but so is Posey.
It’s like @SFGiants said, you really shouldn’t fall asleep on Buster Posey:
Don’t fall asleep on @BusterPosey… pic.twitter.com/BIMruW1OyK
— San Francisco Giants (@SFGiants) April 25, 2017
Naturally, the Giants’ closer, Mark Melancon, was quite clearly relieved to end work early:
TFW when you #BeatLA for the first time with your new team: pic.twitter.com/fr2krsZMzg
— San Francisco Giants (@SFGiants) April 25, 2017
In case you missed it, Yasiel Puig unleashed a must-see rocket from right field to nab Brandon Belt at the plate earlier in this game.
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