Saturday had no shortage of memorable moments as we kicked the weekend into full gear. But while there was no singularly defining moment such as Joe Musgrove’s no-hitter from the night before, we were treated to a full day of baseball games and all of the excitement and weirdness that comes with it.
Here are some of the best things you may have missed from yesterday’s games.
Wholesome Baseball Watch
Your morning dose of eye bleach is here, and ready to pick your spirits up. Saturday’s heartwarming moment came in the Angels vs. Blue Jays matchup, when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. took the time to introduce his teammate, Santiago Espinal, to the legendary Albert Pujols. You can see Espinal’s face light up when he gets the pat from Pujols, and they get to share a moment together before parting ways for the game.
“Come here, you gotta meet my dad’s friend.” pic.twitter.com/UOZ6kEoZmI
— MLB (@MLB) April 11, 2021
Just check out the grins on the faces of the Blue Jays as they walk back to their dugout. It doesn’t get much purer than that. Absolute joy, from ear to ear. That’s what baseball is all about.
Look, No Hands!
Yuli Gurriel sold out completely for this slider in the bottom of the fourth against Frankie Montas and the Oakland Athletics yesterday. Not only does he avoid striking out on this pitch that clearly fooled him, but Gurriel actually battled back after this pitch to draw a walk.
………….bat….flip? pic.twitter.com/nGV3WYMwCl
— Cut4 (@Cut4) April 10, 2021
Just realizing that he’s been fooled and still (in this case, literally) throwing the bat out there to stay alive in the at-bat is impressive, not to mention Montas’ job of dodging the flying lumber. With a little work, maybe Gurriel can eventually level up to no-hand base hits, or even a dinger if he’s lucky.
I guess breaking pitches are a lot harder to hit when you don’t have anyone to let you know when they’re coming. Who knew?
Locastro Steals History
Tim Locastro has had something of an interesting career. After bouncing around the NL West the past few seasons, Locastro has finally settled into something of a regular role with the middling D-Backs, filling in as the fourth outfielder and as one of the go-to options off of the bench for manager Torey Lovullo. He’s also been one of the most under-the-radar stolen base threats in the senior circuit the last few seasons, after getting off to a perfect start.
Saturday night, Locastro took his larceny to a new level when he swiped his 28th career stolen base, and became the first player ever to steal that many without being thrown out.
Call the authorities – there's a base thief on the loose. pic.twitter.com/3k3RcBLTbS
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) April 11, 2021
Locastro will now set his sights on Vince Coleman’s record for the most consecutive stolen bases without recording an out. He’s got a long way to go to reach Coleman’s streak of 50 set in 1989. Still, congrats to Tim & the D-Backs. Making new history isn’t easy, so it’s always special to see it unfold in front of us on the diamond. Now let’s see how far he can take the streak.
Ground-Rule Trouble
No matter how many games you’ve watched over your lifetime, baseball always finds a way to show you something you haven’t quite seen before. Case in point: this super random bounce that resulted in a ground-rule double… without touching the ground.
But… how?? 🤔🤨@D_Robertson28 hit a ball that bounced off the middle of the outfield wall and then OVER it. pic.twitter.com/5qfGGXYyoc
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) April 11, 2021
While I have seen balls bounce off of the top of the wall, and even rest on it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite like that. We even saw Cody Bellinger hit a single out of the park on a ball that left the yard just last week, so something must be in the air. Baseball truly is a silly sport sometimes.
Strike ‘Em Out… Don’t Tag ‘Em Out?
At this point, you’re likely familiar with Cubs’ shortstop Javier Báez and his impressive no-look tags at second base. If not, take a few moments to watch this. I promise you won’t regret it.
Well, Rafael Devers did his best to one-up Javy, by attempting to run off the field not just before the out call, but before the inning was even over.
Devers forgets how many outs there are, completely forgoes the strike em out, throw em out double play. This just looks absolutely hilarious. pic.twitter.com/fpTYnVuqEM
— Céspedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) April 10, 2021
Since it’s still the early going, Devers gets a pass in my book. I doubt the fine people of Boston will look as favorably on the lapse in judgment, but Devers probably softened the blow some when he followed up his blunder with a towering home run.
Rafael Devers – Boston Red Sox (2) pic.twitter.com/c69WoidPT2
— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) April 11, 2021
There you go, knock that rust off.
That just about covers it for all of the fun and strange events from Saturday’s games! Be sure to check back in again each day for another recap of some of the best MLB moments from around the league. Have a legendary day, and we will see you tomorrow!
Photo by Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)