A game-ending unassisted double play by the second baseman -- at FIRST base -- with Shohei Ohtani involved? The final moments of the Marlins’ 3-2 win over the Dodgers on Wednesday in Los Angeles sure merit a second look.
The Dodgers appeared to be mounting a late rally against Miami in the bottom of the ninth, as Hyeseong Kim and Alex Call worked walks to start the inning. Alex Freeland’s sac bunt put the winning run in scoring position, and with first base open, Marlins manager Clayton McCullough decided to intentionally walk Ohtani.
Then Freddie Freeman tapped a soft ground ball toward Miami second baseman Xavier Edwards, and that’s when things got a little weird.
With the potential tying run in Kim charging down the third-base line toward the plate, Edwards snagged the chopper and sprinted toward first base as Ohtani retreated, intending to avoid a tag and give Kim time to score. But Ohtani was ruled out of the baseline for the second out just before Edwards stepped on the bag to retire Freeman.
As it turned out, the order of operations there was important: Retiring Ohtani first meant the play on Freeman was a force at first, ending the game and keeping Kim’s game-tying run off the board. Had Edwards touched the base BEFORE getting Ohtani out, Kim’s run would have counted if the umpiring crew determined he reached the plate before Ohtani was ruled out.
With a bit of uncertainty regarding the timing of the play, the Dodgers used their challenge to contest the double-play call, but the ruling was confirmed to end the game. Thanks to some heads-up baseball by Edwards, the Marlins secured their first series win at Dodger Stadium since April 2018.