Blue Jays escape bizarre first-inning jam with even more bizarre unassisted double play
Blue Jays escape jam with bizarre unassisted DP
To call the top of the first inning of ALDS Game 2 between the Rangers and Blue Jays "pretty weird" would be a gross understatement. It was a symphony of strangeness, an answer to the question, "What would baseball be like if the ball just refused to be caught?"
First, Jose Bautista couldn't corral a fly ball near the right-field wall, leading to a leadoff double; then, a Prince Fielder grounder took a wicked hop into center field; then, Shin-Soo Choo was caught in a rundown between third and home, only to score when Russell Martin's throw ended up in left field.
And yet, somehow, all of that wasn't nearly as bizarre as how the inning ended. With runners on second and third and one out, Josh Hamilton hit a ground ball to first with the defense playing back. First baseman Chris Colabello recorded the out, seemingly helping the Rangers score another run.
Except that, well, Prince Fielder was on third, and he just sort of ... didn't run home.
That was just the sixth unassisted double play recorded by a first baseman in postseason history. More importantly, though, it was just the latest chapter in Prince's war against the third-base line, which began in the 2013 ALCS:
