Although the Los Angeles Dodgers completed a comeback victory to finish a sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday, their rally was almost undone because of an error by Alex Verdugo.
The Dodgers had battled back from an early 5-1 deficit to take a 7-5 lead in the bottom of the seventh. Pirates outfielder Melky Cabrera led off the eighth inning with a single, and rather than field it normally in right field, Verdugo charged it in an apparent attempt to try to throw Cabrera out at first.
Instead, the ball bounced off his glove, and by the time A.J. Pollock corralled it, Cabrera was standing at third. Cabrera eventually scored on a Josh Bell RBI single to bring the Dodgers’ lead down to one, but Julio Urias retired the next three batters to end the threat.
Despite his near-disastrous error, Verdugo started Monday’s game against the San Francisco Giants in center field. Dave Roberts revealed that this was mainly due to an elbow infection that Pollock is dealing with, which will probably send the veteran center fielder to the injured list.
Verdugo figures to be the team’s primary starting center fielder until Pollock gets healthy. Roberts seems fine with that even after Verdugo’s error, and even praised the young outfielder’s confidence in attempting such a play, per SportsNet LA:
“I love the aggression, and if you look at the video from the overhead (camera), there’s actually a chance there could have been a play. Do I think it was the right game-management play? Probably not. But I think the bigger point, though, is that a young player to feel he can go out there and make a play in a game like that. That says a lot about his confidence playing defense, and for me, that’s a winning player.”
While Cody Bellinger’s historically hot start has rightfully shadowed everyone else in the Dodgers’ lineup, Verdugo has become a genuine threat at the plate. He has put up an impressive .333/.352/.623 slash line with four home runs and 16 RBI so far in 2019.
Even before Pollock’s injury, Roberts said that Verdugo was playing his way into increased opportunities as a starter.
