Blink and you'll miss Rojas' slick DP move
The D-backs had a feeling, shortstop Josh Rojas said, that Mookie Betts might be stealing second base with one out and runners on the corners in the seventh inning on Tuesday night at Chase Field.
Rojas was already shaded a bit toward the second-base bag and when Betts took off from first, Rojas moved to cover second.
As Rojas was moving toward the bag, Corey Seager ripped a line drive that bounced off the mound and looked like it might be headed into center field.
Rojas reached out, gloved the ball and, somehow, dragged his right foot across the top of second base for the forceout. Rojas fell to his knees, got back up and fired to first to complete the double play.
“It all happened kind of fast,” Rojas said. “It was kind of just an instinct play. I reached for the ball and thought the only chance of us getting two is if I could get my foot on the bag as I was catching it. I was reaching for the ball and trying to keep my foot on the bag; I ended up dragging my toe.”
Second-base umpire Doug Eddings initially ruled that Rojas had not touched second, but the D-backs challenged the call and it was overturned.
Not only was the play impressive, it was also important. Had the D-backs not turned a double play there, Austin Barnes would have scored from third to give the Dodgers a 7-6 lead. Instead, the game remained tied, though the D-backs eventually lost, 10-9, in 10 innings.
When Rojas returned to the clubhouse after the game, his cell phone was jammed with text messages. It was then that he got to actually look at the replay at full speed.
“Even on the scoreboard, it was kind of slow-mo'ed,” Rojas said. “I just got to watch the replay live at full speed after the game and I realized how cool it was. The coolest part was, first and third, if we don’t get a double play there, run scores and they take a lead. That was what I was most pumped about at the moment. We got to save the run, keep the game tied and give our offense a chance.”