In a series filled with twists and turns, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays saved the best for last in a thrilling Game 7 of the World Series.
The Dodgers’ season came dangerously close to ending in disappointing fashion multiple times in the ninth inning of the winner-take-all contest, but the defensive heroics of Miguel Rojas and Andy Pages ensured the game carried on into extra innings.
Pages replaced Tommy Edman in center field with one out and the bases loaded in the ninth inning to give the Dodgers a better arm and range. The final out of the inning went down in the scorebook as a flyout to center field, but it was far from a routine play.
Pages had to travel 121 feet and survive a collision with Kiké Hernández in order to make the catch. In the immediate aftermath, Hernández appeared injured as he lay face down on the warning track.
However, as Hernández explained during an episode of “On Base With Mookie Betts,” he was simply trying to ignore his perceived reality that the Dodgers just lost the World Series:
“I thought we lost. I took a bad jump because Ernie Clement took that half-swing thing, and it looked, from left field, like it was going to bounce. So I figured he’s going to dump another one in front of me like he did seven times. So I half-step in and then I’m like, ‘Oh, no. This ball is really far away from me.’
“So I’m running full speed, World Series on the line, and I’m like, ‘I need to catch this. If I’ve got to run through a wall, I’ll run through a wall.’ And then I’m like, ‘Alright, I got it.’ I’m slowing down and I’m about to pull a Willie Mays catch, and out of nowhere I got posterized.
“My first thought was I had it, he jumped over me, now we lost. So I’m on the ground and I hear silence. But I think it’s because my brain is protecting me from heartbreak and we had just lost the World Series. Then Pages came and asked me, ‘Are you OK?’ I was like, ‘Forget about me. Did you catch it?’ He goes, ‘Yeah,’ and I was like, ‘Oh, yeah! Let’s go!’”
Pages entering the game likely saved the Dodgers’ season, as the chances that Edman makes that play were extremely slim. Pages’ length allowed him to reach for the ball over Hernández, which Edman’s stature likely would not have resulted in.
Additionally, it’s highly unlikely Edman makes the sprint to the ball on one healthy ankle.
Hernández perhaps could have made a miraculous basket catch on his own, but the Dodgers will never have to know, thanks to Pages.
Kiké Hernández among Dodgers free agents
Hernández now finds himself in the same position as last year, when the Dodgers were also coming off a World Series win. He’s among the team’s free agents and maintains a preference of re-signing with the Dodgers.
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