Palacios Robs Charlotte For Thrilling 6-5 Win
The Blue Jays clubhouse still can't fully comprehend the play centerfielder Joshua Palacios made to end tonight's game."Just incredible," one teammate said in the clubhouse postgame. "That catch should not be made at any level.""I threw my pencil at the wall I was so excited," another said who had been
The Blue Jays clubhouse still can't fully comprehend the play centerfielder Joshua Palacios made to end tonight's game.
"Just incredible," one teammate said in the clubhouse postgame. "That catch should not be made at any level."
"I threw my pencil at the wall I was so excited," another said who had been charting the game.
While his teammates still haven't fully grasped how Palacios pulled off tonight's game-saving grab, the Jays centerfielder was confident he would make the catch. With the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth inning of a one-run ballgame, there simply wasn't another option.
"Before it even happened, I was running it through my mind. If this guy crushes a baseball, no matter where it was in the ballpark, I was going to catch it," Palacios recalled after the game. "As soon I saw him take a hack, I was breaking. It was either I was going to kill myself running into the wall or I was going to catch that baseball. I just went all out, dove, and came up with it. I'm just hyped we got the victory."
The catch ended an already thrilling back-and-forth battle between the two winningest teams in the Florida State League on Saturday evening at Dunedin Stadium, giving the Blue Jays a 6-5 win over the Charlotte Stone Crabs.
Early in the contest, it didn't appear Dunedin would need a thrilling finish to go home with a victory, as they jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the fourth inning. 1B
It was Palacios that got the scoring started in the bottom of the fourth. After RF
On the mound for Dunedin, RHP
Gray led off the sixth inning with a double off Diaz, forcing Dunedin to turn the ball over the bullpen. RHP
LHP
The Stone Crabs weren't about to go down quietly. After striking out the leadoff batter in the eighth, Fishman walked DH
Custodio took the mound for the ninth inning and walked the first batter. After a fly out to center put an out on the scoreboard, Tenerowicz ripped a ground ball down the third baseline. 3B
With the tying run at third and the go-ahead run at first, manager Casey Candaele turned to hard-throwing righty
With the bases loaded and two outs and the score 6-5, DH Jake Fraley turned on a McClelland fastball, drilling it high and deep into the rightfield gap. Palacios, at full sprint, made a sensational diving catch, skidding across the warning track and into the rightfield fence, holding on to rob Fraley of a bases-clearing extra base hit and steal a victory away from Charlotte for Dunedin.
In addition to his heroics in the field, Palacios was 2-5 with a triple, an RBI, and a run scored in the game. Adams was 4-4 with a double, two runs, and an RBI. Brock Lundquist drove home a pair in a 2-4 day.
Diaz was credited with his fourth win of the season on the mound. Ouellette, Fishman, and Custodio each earned a hold while McClelland was credited with his team-leading eighth save.
The win is Dunedin's 59th of the season, most in the Florida State League. Their overall record improves to 59-51 while their second half record moves to 28-14. They sit 2.0 games ahead of the Clearwater Threshers (25-15) for first place in the North Division. The Blue Jays and Stone Crabs will finish their three-game set at Dunedin Stadium tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 PM.