The Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers delivered one of many wildest sequences of the NLCS, a second that left each dugouts surprised. In Recreation 1 of the Dodgers-Brewers showdown, Sal Frelick discovered himself on the middle of an unprecedented double play, and nonetheless walked away annoyed. The Brewers’ double play, scored 8-6-2, was the sort of play that belongs in baseball trivia. But for Frelick, it was a mixture of disbelief and irritation.
Early on, pressure was constructing. Because the ball caromed off the wall, Sal Frelick prolonged his arms in confusion, not sure whether or not it had been caught or not. Then got here the chaos. In a flash, a throw to second and one other to dwelling was a shocking Brewers double play that froze the group at American Household Discipline. Moments later, crew chief James Hoye defined the scenario to Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts, who challenged the decision. After evaluation, each outs stood, silencing a possible Dodgers rally.
After the mud settled, Brewers supervisor Pat Murphy broke down the second. “[Frelick is] mad that he didn’t make the catch,” Murphy stated. “But when he did, the runner would have scored simply. So, it’s sort of a kind of performs, unlucky for the Dodgers that it occurred.” Murphy’s phrases captured the weird nature of a play that flipped from close to catastrophe into defensive brilliance.
In the meantime, Brewers veteran hitter Christian Yelich supplied perspective. “Simply a kind of bizarre, freak performs,” he stated. “You simply play it out. You don’t actually know. That was large. As soon as that occurred, I believed, ‘It’s getting bizarre, we’ve got an opportunity.’”
In baseball phrases, historical past repeated itself. The final time followers noticed an 8-6-2 double play was in 2004, when Ken Griffey Jr. pulled it off in opposition to the Cubs. For the Brewers, this model was about timing, instincts, and a contact of luck. Though the Brewers fell 2–1, the play showcased their defensive edge and unshakable poise underneath playoff stress.
As Frelick’s feelings cooled, one query lingered: can that spark, even in defeat, carry the Brewers deeper into the NLCS?