A baseball doink?
If I told you the Braves beat the Mets on Thursday night thanks to a walk-off hit by All-Star Freddie Freeman, you wouldn’t bat an eye. But a walk-off infield single from the less-than-speedy first baseman? That sounds pretty weird.
Well, the strangest part of the game was that Jacob deGrom gave up three earned runs. The Mets came back, though, and tied the game in the top of the ninth on a Dominic Smith home run. The Braves got a rally going in the bottom of the final frame when Guillermo Heredia was able to advance to second on a swinging bunt after a throwing error by Mets pitcher Seth Lugo.
Eventually, the bases were loaded with two outs and Freeman stepped to the plate. He swung at the first pitch he saw and hit a sharp ground right back to the mound. The ball caromed off of Lugo’s foot and luckily bounced toward third, where Luis Guillorme was able to charge it down and make a perfect off-balance throw to first. But Freeman just barely beat the throw and the run scored.
It was terrible luck for the Mets. If the ball hadn’t plunked Lugo, it would have gone straight to Francisco Lindor, who was shifted to play directly behind second base. And as impressive as Guillorme’s throw was, he passed up a much easier opportunity to make the out at third. Lugo was pleading with Guillorme to put the tag on Ronald Acuña Jr., who was running from second at less than full speed, or beat him to third for the force out.
But it’s hard to blame Guillorme for not being aware of what was happening behind him while trying to make an unorthodox play.
“It’s tough,” Lugo told reporters. “I was trying to yell at [Guillorme], but it’s pretty loud out there. … It’s tough to make that reaction in real time. That is just the way it goes.”
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Email dan.gartland@si.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.
A baseball doink?
If I told you the Braves beat the Mets on Thursday night thanks to a walk-off hit by All-Star Freddie Freeman, you wouldn’t bat an eye. But a walk-off infield single from the less-than-speedy first baseman? That sounds pretty weird.
Well, the strangest part of the game was that Jacob deGrom gave up three earned runs. The Mets came back, though, and tied the game in the top of the ninth on a Dominic Smith home run. The Braves got a rally going in the bottom of the final frame when Guillermo Heredia was able to advance to second on a swinging bunt after a throwing error by Mets pitcher Seth Lugo.
Eventually, the bases were loaded with two outs and Freeman stepped to the plate. He swung at the first pitch he saw and hit a sharp ground right back to the mound. The ball caromed off of Lugo’s foot and luckily bounced toward third, where Luis Guillorme was able to charge it down and make a perfect off-balance throw to first. But Freeman just barely beat the throw and the run scored.
It was terrible luck for the Mets. If the ball hadn’t plunked Lugo, it would have gone straight to Francisco Lindor, who was shifted to play directly behind second base. And as impressive as Guillorme’s throw was, he passed up a much easier opportunity to make the out at third. Lugo was pleading with Guillorme to put the tag on Ronald Acuña Jr., who was running from second at less than full speed, or beat him to third for the force out.
But it’s hard to blame Guillorme for not being aware of what was happening behind him while trying to make an unorthodox play.
“It’s tough,” Lugo told reporters. “I was trying to yell at [Guillorme], but it’s pretty loud out there. … It’s tough to make that reaction in real time. That is just the way it goes.”
The best of SI
The Dodgers must not allow Trevor Bauer to start on Sunday. ... What did we learn in the third month of the MLB season? ... Nolan Arenado reflects on his return to Coors Field for the first time as a visitor. ... The early returns on the NCAA’s name, image and likeness rules show they won’t just benefit male athletes in football and basketball.
Around the sports world
Brooks Koepka kept his feud with Bryson DeChambeau going with a sly reference to Bryson’s caddie drama. ... The Swiss fan whose dramatic facial expressions made him a viral sensation has been identified and is getting all sorts of sponsorship opportunities. ... A 12-year-old from New Jersey became the world’s youngest chess grandmaster. ... Norway’s Karsten Warholm broke the world record in the 400-meter hurdles, the oldest record in men’s track. ... A Mizzou football walk-on and an assistant coach rescued a woman stuck in her car on a flooded road.
Who needs Giannis when you have Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis going off?
This guy is obviously a plant (check out the little notch in his collar before he starts to rip it)
I love a good mental fake-out on the diamond
Having not a nickname but nick-spelling is a move I respect immensely
(And yes, he’s related to Yoenis.)
Madden announced a new “home field advantage” for each team, including Washington’s awful playing surface
He’s going to fit in well in New York
Not sports
An NFT of the original code for the first web browser sold for over $5 million. ... Wally Funk, an 82-year-old who trained to be one of the first female astronauts, will accompany Jeff Bezos to space later this month. ... James Cameron says he was high on ecstasy when he wrote key parts of Terminator 2.
Just scooting along
A good song
Email dan.gartland@si.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.
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