For as hot of bats the Los Angeles Dodgers swung through their first three series this season, they’ve cooled off thus far against the St. Louis Cardinals. As a result, the Dodgers have suffered back-to-back losses for the first time in 2019.
After going 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position and having their home run streak snapped at 10 games in the series opener at Busch Stadium, the Dodgers followed that up by stranding 13 runners and hitting just 2-for-11 with men in scoring position in their shutout loss.
They mustered a total of seven hits and had eight others reach via walk. One of the Dodgers’ hits came on Kiké Hernandez’s fly ball to left field that dropped in front of Marcell Ozuna and carried over the fence for a leadoff ground-rule double in the eighth inning.
Ozuna immediately broke back on the ball and climbed the fence in left field. Hernandez’s drive was coming up short of the wall, however, and Ozuna fell on his stomach in an attempt to recover.
"See, what had happened was…" – Marcell Ozuna, probably. pic.twitter.com/1pHXLaeDOq
— Cut4 (@Cut4) April 10, 2019
The play had the initial makings of a replica of Ozuna, at the time with the Miami Marlins, robbing Hernandez of a home run with a leaping catch in July 2017. Hernandez said he’s often reminded of that, and therefore was pleased to see Ozuna’s blunder, via SportsNet LA:
“Off the bat I knew I hit it well. But running down to first base, I started running hard, running down the line. I see him climb up and I’m like, ‘I thought I hit it too high.’ And it brought me to a flashback to Miami two years ago. Then he face planted and I’m really glad it happened to him, because he deserves it. That’s my boy. I played with him but he still reminds me every year of the play he made two years ago. It would’ve been better if it hit off his head when he fell down, but it’s still one of my favorite doubles of my career.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts wasn’t quite as blunt as Hernandez, but had a light-hearted take about the play as well:
“I’ve watched some bloopers, and I’ve [seen routes like those] on the bloopers. He’s going to be on a blooper for the next 10 years. I actually thought it was a homer off the bat, and it kind of hung up there. … I guess we can laugh about it since he’s not hurt.”
Ozuna was checked on by a trainer before remaining in the game. That seemingly paved the way for players to have a good laugh at his expense.
With the play unfolding in front of the Dodgers bullpen, Kenley Jansen and Joe Kelly were among those who particularly enjoyed their up-close look. Kelly immediately began jumping out of amazement, and Jansen was caught on camera still laughing one batter later.
Harrison Bader wore a smile for several minutes and Ozuna’s razed him when he returned to the dugout between innings.
