The Los Angeles Dodgers live to fight another day! Things seemed dire in the final inning, especially after Roki Sasaki accidentally hit Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk to send him on base with no outs. With postseason hero Addison Barger coming up to the plate, the Dodgers needed things to go their way.
Barger proceeded to send a fly ball all the way to the outfield, right between left fielder Kike Hernandez and center fielder Justin Dean. With the trajectory of the ball, pinch runner Myles Straw would've had a chance to get home. However, the ball was lodged underneath the outfield fence. The hit was eventually ruled a deadball, and Barger was sent to second base. Perhaps more importantly for the Dodgers, though, Straw stayed at third base instead of getting home.
That break proved to be the last piece the Dodgers needed to finish off the Blue Jays. A few plays later, the Dodgers turned in a clutch double play to secure the win and a chance at Game 7. After the game, Dean said that he knew enough not to touch the ball in that scenario.
“I was just trusting the rule is the rule and trusting that ball will fit into the description,” Dean said, per Arash Markazi.
Had Dean tried to dislodge the ball from underneath the fence, the play would have continued. In that time, Straw could have easily gone to home plate, and Barger might even have had a chance to get to third. Thanks to the heads-up play by the Dodgers veteran, though, the play remained dead after an umpire blew his whistle. Dean's play essentially saved the Dodgers a run.
That run became crucial. A one-run lead with no outs and a runner in scoring position would have completely changed the Dodgers' approach in attacking the inning. In the end, an infield pop fly and the aforementioned double play saved Los Angeles' season and gave them another chance to secure the World Series.
