Two Major League Baseball rivals were bailed out of jams in a rather unorthodox way Saturday night.
Both the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants were able to avoid ninth-inning comebacks by their opponents thanks to baserunners being hit by batted balls for the final out. The Giants were the first to do it when Los Angeles Angels outfielder Matt Joyce hit Taylor Featherston with runners on the corners. Joyce did hit into the shift, but had the ball gotten by Giants second baseman Joe Panik, the Angels would have scored the tying run from third.
As for the Dodgers, the Arizona Diamondbacks were down by just two runs when a ball in play clipped Arizona catcher Jordan Pacheco. That ball rolled into shallow center field and would have put Pacheco at least at third base.
The last time an MLB game ended with a baserunner getting beaned by a batted ball was July 27, 2010.
Thumbnail photo via Lance Iversen/USA TODAY Sports Images
