The Los Angeles Dodgers kept their season alive with a wild Game 6 win on Friday. The Toronto Blue Jays threatened to rally when Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto was pulled after throwing 96 pitches. Trailing 3-1, Toronto looked poised to tie the game with the tying run at second base and no outs in the ninth inning.
However, the Dodgers’ precarious situation quickly turned into a best-case scenario for the home team. Addison Barger delivered an extra-base hit that appeared to score pinch-runner Myles Straw from first base, cutting the lead to 3-2. But in a rare and unusual turn of events, Straw was sent back to third base as Barger’s hit was ruled a dead ball.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider was stunned by the strange play as it unfolded. “Been here a long time. Haven’t seen a ball get lodged ever. Put a great swing on that pitch. Didn’t bounce our way there,” Schneider said after the Game 6 loss.
### Addison Barger Hits Rare Ground-Rule Double in Game 6
Barger’s line drive landed at the base of the wall in left-center field and became stuck between the warning track dirt and the wall’s padding. Ninth-inning defensive replacement in center field, Justin Dean, immediately raised his arms to signal that the ball was not playable. As Dean gestured to the umpires, Straw was rounding third base.
Had Barger’s hit landed just a few inches longer or shorter, the Blue Jays would have been down by just one run. Instead, because the ball got lodged where it did, the umpires ruled it a dead ball. Barger was awarded a ground-rule double, and Straw returned to third base with the Dodgers still holding a 3-1 lead.
Despite the disappointment, the Blue Jays still had runners on second and third with no outs in a potential comeback spot. Barger’s hit also forced Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to pull reliever Roki Sasaki, calling on Tyler Glasnow to shut down the rally.
Glasnow, a seasoned veteran, responded flawlessly. He first got Ernie Clement to pop up, then induced an unusual game-ending 7-4 double play. Andres Gimenez hit a soft liner to shallow left field, where Kike Hernandez made the catch and quickly doubled off Barger at second base to end the game.
The Dodgers’ resilience and a bit of fortuitous circumstance helped them stave off elimination and extend their postseason hopes with a thrilling Game 6 victory.
https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/toronto-blue-jays/blue-jays-news-john-schneider-shocked-addison-barger-9th-inning-stuck-ball
