Petriello: Why did Ryan Zimmerman stop at third base?
From Mike Petriello at MLB.com on October 13, 2017:
There was a play in the midst of the wackiness of Game 5 of the National League Division Series presented by T-Mobile that’s almost certainly going to be lost to history in the Cubs’ dramatic victory to advance to the NL Championship Series presented by Camping World. After all, it came in the midst of aces struggling in relief, a dropped third strike that led to a run after an errant throw, and whatever it was that you’d describe the entire fifth inning. You’re probably not going to remember Daniel Murphy’s fifth-inning double, because from the outside, it looked straightforward. Murphy doubled to left, advancing Ryan Zimmerman from first to third while scoring Bryce Harper to close the Cubs’ lead to 8-6 with two outs in the inning.
Simple, right? Murphy doubled 43 times this year, seventh most in baseball. He does this a lot, and he looked pretty happy about this one. But there was something about this one that stood out. Why didn’t Zimmerman try to score, too? And might he have been safe if he had? Zimmerman scored from first on a double six times this year, and it’s not an unimportant question. Since Anthony Rendon was walked and Matt Wieters flied out, Zimmerman never did make it home. The Nats would lose, 9-8. One run was everything.
Read the full article here: http://m.nationals.mlb.com/news/article/258460796/why-did-ryan-zimmerman-stop-at-third-base/
Originally published: October 13, 2017. Last Updated: October 13, 2017.