The Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals were locked into a 1-0 game during the sixth inning when Brusdar Graterol came in to protect the lead.
The first batter he had to face was Paul Goldschmidt, who has given the Dodgers a ton of trouble over his career. On a 1-2 pitch, Goldschmidt blasted a ball into center field, and it looked like he got them one more time.
James Outman took a poor route as he ran back to the wall, but he ultimately leaped and made the catch to rob Goldschmidt of what would have been a game-tying home run.
Outman discussed the catch on SportsNet LA after the game, saying what changes he made after unsuccessfully attempting to rob a home run on Thursday:
“I just read it hard off the bat. I actually turned the wrong way to start, but then I spun. I think the biggest thing was I timed the jump correctly this time. Last night, I felt like I was there a little early and then got stuck. I just wanted to make sure I jumped early enough to give myself space between the wall and myself.”
Just one day prior, Outman had a chance to take away a home run from Nolan Gorman, who hit his second of the day to increase the Cardinals’ lead to 16-8. Outman raced back to the wall but wasn’t able to jump high enough.
Mookie Betts said Outman was frustrated by missing in, so he wanted to make sure the same thing wouldn’t happen twice:
“Yeah, I think so. I was just thinking, ‘You better freaking catch this one.’”
After Outman took away the homer, the Dodgers went on to score four more runs to increase their lead to 5-0, which included a three-run blast from Betts. The 26-year-old believes the catch may have added some momentum to his club, but also credited the talent on the team:
“Yeah. I mean, I was assuming that we were going to score more runs. We’ve got a good offense. Mookie is Mookie, so he came through big, C.T. came up with a really big hit early on. I think it helped me relax a little bit.”
Offensively, Outman only went 1-for-4 with a walk and three strikeouts in the win, but he continues to prove he is a valuable all-around player.
Although it’s early in the season, Outman is the current favorite to win National League Rookie of the Year.
Dodgers unsure if Julio Urias tipped pitches
Julio Urías pitched just three innings while giving up six runs on six hits with two walks and only one strikeout in the series opener on Thursday. Most of the damage came during the third inning where he gave up four home runs, including back-to-back-to-back long balls.
When any Major League pitcher has an outing where they give up four home runs in an inning, it raises questions about whether they were tipping pitches. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts did not rule out the possibility and said it was something the team would need to look into.
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