Anderson slides awkwardly on Yelich's RBI hit
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SAN DIEGO -- Brewers shortstop Orlando Arcia had a theory about that Chase Anderson slide in the Brewers' 12-inning, 2-1 win over the Padres on Opening Day.
"I think he wanted to touch home plate with his nose," Arcia said.
Actually, Anderson's hand got in the way, which was a good thing. Christian Yelich's first RBI as a Brewer stirred a few moments of concern Thursday after Anderson appeared to hit the side of his head on home plate, then stopped on the way back to the Brewers' dugout and put his hands on his knees before completing the trip.
Anderson, who was also fighting a stomach bug, underwent concussion tests while the half-inning concluded, however, and was cleared to return to the mound for four more scoreless innings.
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It wound up being a critical run, and represented the first instance of the Brewers' new top-of-the-order duo of Lorenzo Cain and Yelich at work. After Anderson extended the inning with a sharp single to center field, Cain and Yelich followed with singles of their own to plate Milwaukee's first run. Cain finished with three hits, while Yelich went 1-for-4 in his Brewers debut including that soft single in front of left fielder Jose Pirela for a 1-0 lead in the third.
Anderson chugged home hard on the play.
"I think the biggest thing was, my decision-making was late and I went down late to slide and didn't have my feet where I needed to have my feet," Anderson said. "I think my left foot hit the plate and slipped a little bit, and I had to brace myself with my left hand and I hit my nose. That jarred me up a little bit.
"I don't know if I blacked out for a minute or not, but I came up and didn't feel very good. I didn't know what happened."
After it was clear that Anderson was OK, he wondered what teammates might have in store to remind him of his adventure.
"[Jeremy Jeffress] was already talking about bubble-wrapping me next time I go to the plate," Anderson said. "I'm just glad I didn't get hurt."