After opening the 2016 season with a seven-game road trip that took them to San Diego and San Francisco, the Los Angeles Dodgers were at last in front of their home fans on Tuesday.
Kenta Maeda took the mound for his second regular-season start, and he was opposed by Arizona Diamondbacks left-hander Patrick Corbin. The Dodgers received a bit of a boost with Yasmani Grandal and Howie Kendrick both getting reinstated from the disabled list.
However, Scott Van Slyke was placed on the DL due to lower back irritation. Given that a southpaw was on the mound, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts stacked his lineup with right-handed bats.
Yasiel Puig, who entered a lifetime .333/.333/.833 batter against Corbin, albeit in only six plate appearances, hit second behind leadoff man Kiké Hernandez.
With the Dodgers leading 1-0 in the fifth inning, Puig electrified the crowd as he turned a base hit into a hustle double, complete with a crafty head-first slide and quick hands:
The Diamondbacks challenged the call, but were unsuccessful. Puig joked he was not opposed to using his tongue if it meant reaching safely, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times:
“I was trying to get on the base,” Puig said through an interpreter. “His throw was to his left hand, so I tried to attack with my right. I wasn’t able to reach the bag, so I went again with my left. If I wouldn’t have done it with my left hand, I would have used my tongue.”
Unfortunately for the Dodgers, Puig was stranded as Gonzalez flied out on the first pitch he saw after a lengthy review. That was a recurring theme for the Dodgers, as they were 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
