The Padres turned a ‘super dangerous’ outfield collision into weird 6-5-4 double play
The Cubs finished a three-game sweep of the Padres with a 6-1 win Wednesday at Wrigley Field despite running into a bit of bad luck.
Chicago had the bases loaded with one out in the fourth inning when catcher P.J. Higgins lifted a fly ball into short left field. Out went Padres shortstop Ha-Seong Kim. In came left fielder Tommy Pham.
They both nearly caught the ball before colliding and falling to the ground in pain. Kim had the presence of mind to get to his feet and throw the ball to shortstop Fernando Tatis, Jr. Because the Cubs players didn’t know if the ball was caught, only the runner on third advanced.
Tatis stepped on third for a force out and threw to second baseman Jake Cronenworth for the force at that bag and a strange 6-5-4 double play. In fact, the MLB website shows Higgins had grounded into the twin killing.
Not quite. Here is the play:
“There was a lot going on right there,” Cubs manager David Ross said after the game. “It was pretty nasty. You don’t ever want to see guys colliding. You’ve got top-tier athletes going after the baseball full speed, colliding. Super dangerous. It’s a scary moment. I hope those guys are all right.”
As you could see in the video, Pham was clearly unhappy about the collision. Padres manager Jayce Tingler, a native of Smithville, told the team’s website that his team plays with passion.
“We’ve got a passionate group, and passion’s a good thing,” Tingler said. “At times things are going to get heated. But passion’s a good thing, competitiveness is a good thing. We’ll move on.”
