Hearing the sequence of numbers "1-3-1" in sports isn't all that unusual if you're a basketball fan. It's both an offensive and defensive formation that, defensively, leaves the paint a little bit exposed but allows for passing lines to be crashed and your best defender to have his/her way with the ball-handler.
In baseball, however, "1-3-1" isn't something you hear every day, nor every month, nor every season. In fact, a 1-3-1 putout doesn't make much sense at all. A 1-3 putout means that a grounder was hit to the pitcher, who then fired to first for the out. A 3-1 putout might be seen most frequently on a bunt down the first base line, followed by the pitcher running to cover first for the out. But 1-3-1? A ball that goes to the pitcher, then to the first baseman, then back to the pitcher — and all for just one out?
Leave it to the San Francisco Giants to provide this odd bit of baseball for us on Thursday night, doing so after Diamondbacks hitter Christian Walker hit an oddly bouncing ball in between Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto and first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. (via MLB Film Room).
I've found two other examples of a 1-3-1 putout, simply by searching the term on YouTube, though the fact that these two were the only ones to come up makes me think that it's just as bizarre occurrence as I'd have imagined. The first was from a 2013 game between the Angels and the Athletics, while the second happened in 2017 between the Mets and Rockies. In both instances, a ball was ripped off the foot or lower leg of the pitcher, rebounding toward the first baseman as the pitcher recovered toward the bag.
The third example, successfully accomplished by the Giants, sure was surprising. But it wasn't quite as shocking that the first-place Giants, entering the game at 50-29, lost to the last-place Diamondbacks, who entered the night at 22-60. It's the fourth straight loss for San Francisco, who will look to get back on track and win the next three to take the series away from Arizona.
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