Jake Cronenworth encountered a hole lot of trouble with his glove during a critical moment in the game. Cronenworth anticipated, cleanly fielding Gavin Lux’s one-out chopper, setting the stage for what seemed to be a routine double play to end the eighth inning with the score deadlocked at 2-2.
However, to the dismay of the Padres, the ball unexpectedly slipped through a hole in the webbing of Cronenworth’s sizable first baseman mitt, allowing Teoscar Hernández to score the go-ahead run.
Subsequently, Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani delivered clutch RBI singles, propelling the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 5-2 victory in the opening game Wednesday night, marking the first major league contest held in South Korea.
Reflecting on the unexpected turn of events, Cronenworth expressed his frustration, stating, “It could have gone through innings before that. It just happened in that situation and it sucks. I mean, I thought it was an easy double play. I caught it on the first bounce.”
From the dugout, Padres manager Mike Shildt had initially believed the inning was about to conclude smoothly. “I felt pretty confident it was a 3-6-1,” he remarked. “But it goes through his webbing, and the rest is history.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts acknowledged his team’s stroke of luck, remarking, “A fortunate break for us. You have to take them when you can get them.”
