The Los Angeles Dodgers fell 3-2 to the Texas Rangers on Wednesday in a game they nearly evened up in the ninth inning.
With runners on first and second base, Jason Heyward roped a double into the right-center field gap that easily brought in Will Smith, but Andy Pages was thrown out at the plate for the final out of the game.
The rookie outfielder ran through a stop sign from third base coach Dino Ebel on his attempt to score from first base.
“No, I didn’t see Dino’s stop sign. I saw the center fielder bobble the ball and then I just kept going,” Pages said through an interpreter.
When Pages saw Leody Taveras bobble the ball, he had his mind set on scoring no matter what. “I knew I was going to get to third base easily but when I saw him bobble the ball, I knew I was going to try to score no matter what because I knew I was the tying run,” Pages said.
The Dodgers argued that Pages couldn’t score because Jonah Heim was blocking the plate, but umpires upheld the call after replay review.
“I didn’t really have an inside track to get into the plate,” Pages noted. “I had to go around.”
Although it was disappointing to get thrown out at the plate to end the game, Pages believes he can learn from the experience.
“Yeah, any opportunity like that is good to grow, but I also want to be better in those situations,” he said.
Dave Roberts: Andy Pages getting thrown out ‘a learning experience’
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts agreed with Pages that there are some positives he can take away from being thrown out at the plate.
“It’s a learning experience,” Roberts began.
“We’ve already talked to him a little bit about it. It’s one thing to be defiant and to run through a stop sign when you see it. And there’s another thing about trying to make a play, trying to be aggressive, seeing the bobble in the outfield, and that’s what he did.
“He just didn’t have his head up to pick up Dino, who was clearly holding him up. But it still took a perfect throw, executed relay, and they made a great play. Really good baseball play. And so it’s something that we’ve addressed, and Andy’s doing great.
“It’s one of those things that we have a young player who doesn’t have a lot of experience, you got to run him out there and that’s how they learn.”
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