PHOENIX -- Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy and D-backs first baseman Ildemaro Vargas both exited Arizona's walk-off 3-2 victory Thursday night at Chase Field after a collision at first base in the top of the fifth inning.
Muncy said that he passed concussion protocol, and while his head got “got banged up a little bit,” he feels all right. He will not play on Friday. Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said Vargas had X-rays taken of his thigh, ribs and neck, and all were negative. Vargas was lobbying Lovullo to play Friday, but the manager said that was unlikely.
Muncy grounded a ball to first base, where Vargas was able to field it from behind the bag. From opposite sides of the bag, Vargas and Muncy were racing to get there when both collided head on.
As he was running down the line, Muncy saw that D-backs starter Ryne Nelson was slow to get off the mound and that Vargas had drifted into foul territory. Muncy instinctively moved into the inside of the bag in an effort to avoid him, but Vargas also moved in that direction, and neither player had time to change his path.
“It felt like neither of us knew which direction we were going to go, and then we both went the wrong direction," Muncy said. "And yeah, bang.”
Said Vargas via translator Alex Arpiza, “I might have thought, perhaps for a second, that it was a foul ball. I'm just trying to make the play. I love Nelson. I'm just trying to play hard. I'm just trying to do everything I can for him.”
Muncy beat Vargas to the bag for a base hit, but both were down for several minutes as their respective training staffs checked on them. They were able to stand under their own power, but both came out of the game.
Immediately after the collision, Muncy experienced some shortness of breath, but he felt better once that subsided. Once he had collected himself, his biggest concern was for Vargas.
“When I looked at the replay, it looked like we both kind of did the same thing, where we both jumped to almost de-weight ourselves and avoid it. Unfortunately, we did not avoid it,” Muncy said. “Most importantly … I hope he's doing all right. I definitely did not mean to run into him.”
Muncy was replaced by pinch-runner Santiago Espinal, who also took over at third base, and Vargas was replaced at first base by Pavin Smith.
It was Nelson who appeared to feel the worst in the Arizona clubhouse postgame, blaming himself for the play because he failed to cover first. Had he done that, he said, none of this would have happened, and he rushed up to the clubhouse as soon as the inning was over to check on Vargas.
When he was asked about his outstanding seven innings of pitching, Nelson pivoted quickly to the Vargas-Muncy collision.
“I failed to do my job in a big spot, which ended up with Vargy getting taken out of the game, so I'm pretty disappointed in myself for that,” Nelson said. “I try to take pride in doing the little things right and fielding my position, covering first base, and watching a teammate and a friend get taken out of the game like that, it was very disappointing. And knowing that I could have done something to make that not happen doesn't feel good.”