Wednesday, aka Hump Day, was a good day of baseball. It was an almost-full midweek slate of games, and boy was it a good one. We got a no-hitter, some hijinx on the field, great home run celebrations, and even a nacho home run. You’ll see what I mean. Let’s catch up on the best from Wednesday’s action.
Abreu’s No-Hit Saving Play
Carlos Rodón’s no-hitter was the big news of Wednesday. After injury struggles, the former top draft pick showed what we all expected from him: greatness. Now, if you’re familiar with how no-hit games go, you know that there has to be an incredible play made on defense. Think of Gregor Blanco’s diving catch to save Matt Cain’s perfect game or Dewayne Wise’s catch in Mark Buehrle’s. Naturally, there had to be one here.
In the top of the ninth, Josh Naylor hit a grounder to first and hustled to the bag, and with such a close play at first base, all of us had flashbacks to the Armando Galarraga game.
to save the perfect game!!!! pic.twitter.com/6xeSz12oUW
— Jomboy (@Jomboy_) April 15, 2021
That was a lot of hustle from both Naylor and Abreu, with Naylor sliding headfirst and Abreu doing the splits! It was just an incredible effort and a weird play that you don’t see too often, especially with the first baseman doing the splits that way, rather than doing it to keep their foot on the bag.
Now, unfortunately, the perfect game was lost on the very next batter, when Rodón just hit Roberto Perez in the toe with a slider. And, I mean just hit him.
Carlos Rodón hits the cleat of Roberto Perez, ending the perfect game after 25 outs
No-hitter still in tact pic.twitter.com/wUHfnz7BJo
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 15, 2021
Regardless, it was a great performance all-around with the help of the great play.
Jazz Chisholm’s Celebration
Jazz Chisholm is quickly becoming a fan favorite as one of the more exciting young players in his short career. He’s electric, talented, has blue hair, and is very, very fun. His first home run of the year came off of Jacob deGrom, and his second came off of Charlie Morton on Wednesday. But that’s not the important part. What’s important is what he did after.
jazz chisholm with the home run trot – eurostep combo pic.twitter.com/iCj1jzW37S
— Joon Lee (@joonlee) April 15, 2021
I mean, come on, you have to like that. We’ve seen all sorts of celebrations while crossing the plate, including some wild ones after walkoffs. But this is one I haven’t seen before, and man, it is great. I have a feeling Chisholm will be a part of this series a lot this season, and he’s someone everyone should watch. He does something fun every game.
Nacho Home Run
There is catching a ball at the park with your glove, there’s catching a foul ball with a beer. Now let me introduce you to: the home run caught in nachos.
— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) April 15, 2021
I mean, this is just great work. You have to have hand-eye coordination and be willing to risk your nachos for a Justin Turner home run ball. You just have to respect that.
Cheesin’. pic.twitter.com/cqErZFUOFH
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 15, 2021
He’s going to have to throw his jacket in the wash when he gets home, but all in all, he did pretty well for himself. He caught a home run ball, was featured on the Dodgers’ Twitter account, and even had some nachos left over! That’s quite a story to tell in the future. And he has the proof to back it up!
Dugout Request
We already had Jazz Chisholm today, so why don’t we get something from the other dugout? Not only are there home run celebrations, but there are extra base hit celebrations as well! The Braves do it very often, and they like to mix it up when they hit a double. It’s exactly what you think it is; make the motion like you’re stirring something. Apparently, Austin Riley didn’t catch the memo.
The dugout commanding Austin Riley to mix it up 😄 pic.twitter.com/uN2styhszp
— Bally Sports: Braves (@BravesOnBally) April 15, 2021
Maybe he just forgot. Or maybe he didn’t want to do it. Either way, the Braves dugout wasn’t having it. I don’t know about you, but if those three stars wanted me to do something, I’d probably do it.
Wednesday was fun. We got to see all sorts of stuff, including the second no-hitter of the season! With two already in the books, it’s a good sign that we’re in for a wild season. Enjoy your Thursday, and watch some baseball.
Great stuff, I missed the Jazz HR trot. You’re right, he’s quickly becoming must watch baseball for both his skills and personality.