Never mind the outcome of yesterday afternoons game (which we lost, BTW), I want to focus on an event that happened in the second inning of the game.
With two out and men at the corners, the Dodgers inexplicably tried to pull off a double steal. I say it was unexpected because standing on first base was the slow-footed AJ Ellis. During his nine year career, that includes 537 games played, Ellis has never stolen base. Heck, he's only attempted it four times ever.
So, when he headed for second base with two outs on the board it was a shocked everyone. So shocking, in fact, that not only did he steal his very first base, but the runner on third, Joc Pederson, came home to score on an errant throw. Per
Jon Weisman at Dodger Insider:
“It was fun to laugh and fun to look in the dugout and see my
teammates going nuts,” Ellis said. “I called Marvin Hudson, the
second-base umpire, over and asked him if I could have the bag right
then. He said, ‘No — you have to wait until in between innings.’
“It’s just fun to have memories with a bunch of guys you have shared
history with for so long, so when something like that happens, it’s
fun.”
No worries AJ. Kershaw's got your back. As we learned, via a
tweet from Ken Gurnick, Clayton got a hold of that base and had MLB authenticate it. You can see it on the right, as
tweeted by Alanna Rizzo. BTW, Ellis did get a steal sign from Dave Roberts. Via
Ken Gurnick and Bill Chastain at MLB.com:
"It was one of those plays where maybe you steal a run, and fortunately it worked out." Per Dave Roberts
The photo at the very top of Ellis stealing second is via
Violet Herzfeld/LA Dodgers 2016.
Go here to check out more pics by Violet and Jon SooHoo from yesterdays game. Below are more links to check out:
- This Day in Dodger History: In 1991 Expos hurler Dennis Martinez throws a perfect game against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. It is only the 15th perfect game in Baseball history, and the first no-hitter thrown at the stadium by an opposing pitcher.
- Happy Birthday, Freddie Fitzsimmons!