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League Championship Series
Okay Back To Some Slick Defense
It's not apparent that Anibal Sanchez's play to end the bottom of the first inning actually saved a run; the shortstop might well have made the play if Sanchez hadn't.
It sure was nifty, though:
Love The Look On Infante's Face When He Realizes He Was Called Safe
Nelson clearly missed this one, and it's not clear how or why. Infante's poor baserunning should have cost the Tigers a great scoring chance, but it didn't. Instead, Nelson's error cost the Yankees a run when rookieAvisail García parachuted a single into right field, with Infante coming around to score.
The Ankle Injury Heard Around The World (My Mom In Minnesota Even Commented On It)
He stayed down, and when the trainer and manager Joe Girardi helped him off the field, he put absolutely no weight on his right leg.
Who's That Masked Man Playing Shortstop?
Nice catch, Rook.
Now Time For Some Bombs. First up, Eduardo Nunez Takes Justin Verlander Deep
Leading off the ninth inning against Justin Verlander -- who was working on a two-hit shutout -- Eduardo Nunez fouled off seven pitches before getting a pitch he could really handle and doing ... this:
Matt Carpenter Fills In For Carlos Beltran And Does This
Carpenter -- who hadn't started a game in the postseason, and entered Game 3 only because Carlos Beltran tweaked his knee in the bottom of the first -- came up with two outs and a runner aboard in the bottom of the third, his proud parents in the stands, and did this:
GIFs Were Made For Plays Like These
Shortstop Pete Kozma was late getting to second base, which probably rattled Lynn and caused the low throw, which caromed off the bag. Scutaro scored easily, Sandoval went to third, and Pence was safe at first on the error.
Then This Happened
Finally, a respite: Barry Zito was due next. No problem. Oh, except Zito had another idea and he executed that idea with absolute perfection:
So Much Going On Here, It's Glorious.
Cardinals flamethrower Trevor Rosenthal blew away the Giants in the sixth and seventh innings. Mitchell Boggs, in the eighth, had no such luck. Pablo Sandoval led off and, after working the count full, did this:
The Most Awkward Man In Baseball
... breaking to his right when the ball was actually hit to his left; granted, Kozma had a pretty damned good excuse: the ball actually hit Pence's shattered bat three times. Has anyone EVER seen this sight before?
Next time, World Series GIFs.
This post is sponsored by Jack in the Box.