ANAHEIM – White Sox central defender Luis Robert made a fun but painful and ultimately costly gaffe in the third inning of Saturday’s game against the Angels, trying to catch a shallow flying ball from Anthony Rendon’s bat, just to jump out of your head for a race punctuation error.
Fortunately, Robert was in good physical shape and even ran the next round with a single RBI to tie the game. But the move ended up costing the White Sox two runs on the board, and came in an eventual 5-3 defeat that saw the Angels score three times in eighth place. It was a memorable mistake for all the wrong reasons, as the ball bounced dramatically in his head and there were also two eliminations in the third, so a catch would have ended the threat.
Shortstop Tim Anderson originally backed off in an attempt to make the catch, but Robert ran 134 feet from his spot on the outside field, seeming to call Anderson out and stay in position to make the routine move. The move had a 95% probability of capture, according to the Statcast. White Sox manager Tony La Russa, however, thought Robert might have had problems with the twilight sky at Angel Stadium.
“I think it happens, before it really gets dark, it happens throughout the championship,” said La Russa. “I think the one between Tim and Luis today, [Luis] is playing deep, he had a long way to go. He’s a Gold Glover, he must have run 200 meters to get there, I’m exaggerating, but it was a long way. During twilight, it is difficult anywhere. “
Robert’s mistake was not the end of the madness, however. Right field player Adam Eaton grabbed the ball and tried to catch David Fletcher as he ran home from the start, but the shot went off target and ricocheted off the mound, bouncing off the counterattack. Rendon advanced to second base on the error and Jared Walsh followed up with a single RBI to score Rendon, giving the right-handed Lance Lynn two undeserved inning runs.
Lynn, however, said it was only part of the game and he was not frustrated with Robert.
“Your job is to get the guys,” said Lynn. “They catch you when you have bad games, schedule races for you and make great plays for you. This game is unpleasant. So there is no fault, there is nothing, you just need to make the next pitch, and that is the truth of the matter. You can’t worry about what happened before, because it doesn’t matter and you have to make the next shot. Unfortunately, I made a mistake with the next hitter and he managed to hit one through the sixth hole. But I need to make my pitch, and I need to get us out of it. This is my job.”
Angels coach Joe Maddon was impressed by Fletcher’s instincts to score first and noted that the move was another reason why putting the ball in play is better than a strikeout.
“How about the baserunner scoring on him?” Maddon said. “When David came in, I told him that not everyone scores points on this. I wanted him to know that. So I want to give him credit too. And yes, move the ball, move the ball. ‘Make the defense run, so they can perform. ‘- Coach Ed Morgan. Hazleton High School, 1972. “