For the first time since trading for Josh Reddick, the Los Angeles Dodgers had Reddick and Yasiel Puig in the same lineup. In order to make it work, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had Puig in left field.
It was just Puig’s second career start in left field, and first since his June of 2013 — his rookie season. Roberts had essentially platooned Puig and Reddick in right field up until Saturday’s game against the Miami Marlins.
While Puig was receiving starts against a lefty, and Reddick when a righty was on the mound, Roberts denied the notion that the arrangement was a platoon.
His decision to put Puig in left field on Saturday wound up impacting the game more than anyone could imagine.
Building on his last outing, Rich Hill was dominant against the Marlins. He flipped breaking balls from multiple angles and induced plenty of soft contact throughout the night.
That amounted to Hill putting together a perfect game. Although Hill was removed after seven innings, his perfect game would have been shattered if not for Puig running 85 feet to make a remarkable catch:
Roberts said his decision to remove Hill from a perfect game left him sick to the stomach. It was the second time this season the rookie manager has intervened with a shot at the history books on the line.
During the first week of the season, Roberts pulled Ross Stripling in the eighth inning of his Major League debut, despite Stripling having a no-hitter intact. That decision was due to a previously determined pitch limit on Stripling, while removing Hill was out of concern over his blister.
The Dodgers’ combined perfect hitter was lost when Joe Blanton allowed a two-out single in the eighth, but at minimum the night will be remembered for Hill’s dominance and Puig’s highlight-reel catch.
