PITTSBURGH — Ever seen a 9-2-5-2-9 double play? Well, it looks as wild as one might think.
The Cardinals turned two in head-scratching fashion in the seventh inning of their 8-2 loss to the Pirates on Friday night at PNC Park.
After Bryan Reynolds hit a one-out double for the Pirates, Rodolfo Castro knocked a base hit to right field that sent Reynolds dashing toward home. A strong throw by right fielder Lars Nootbaar was a bit wide of home plate, but it was strong enough to make Reynolds attempt to scurry back to third base.
Catcher Andrew Knizner’s throw was on the mark — maybe a bit too on the mark, as it plunked Reynolds trying to turn away from third baseman Nolan Arenado. Arenado threw back to Knizner to get that out, but Castro turned well wide of second base to set up a second out.
Brendan Donovan adeptly noticed third base unoccupied as Arenado’s momentum took him toward home, and he rushed to keep Castro from getting a free bag. Even more acutely, Nootbaar rushed in from right — after beginning the whole play in the first place — to tag out Castro struggling back toward second.