They say never make the first or third out of an inning at third base, and Jesse Winker broke that commandment on Sunday night.
But it was the way Winker got himself thrown out at third that had baseball fans wildly confused.
With nobody out and the Mets down 6-0 in the top of the fifth, Jose Iglesias did what he does best and got the bat on the ball to poke a single into left center, leaving Winker seemingly more than enough time to advance from first to third. But instead, Kike Hernandez fielded the ball in center, threw in to second, and the Dodgers still had time to nab Winker at third for the first out, and spoil a rare New York rally in game one.
Replay of the baserunning blunder made it even more bizarre, as Winker appeared to be well on his way to third before slamming on the brakes midway between second and third, and as Winker saw the throw come into second, he went for third, but did so hastily while looking back towards second base, jogging towards third as the throw came over and beat Winker to the bag easily.
It was likely nothing more than a mental hiccup by Winker, but it was magnified due to the score and the situation, and those watching along couldn’t figure out what exactly was going through Winker’s mind during the rally-killing play.
But, upon closer look, Winker had his eyes on Hernandez, but the Dodgers center fielder pulled off an incredible head fake, bringing his momentum towards third as he charged the ball and eyed the third baseman, only to make a last-minute redirection and throw almost a no-look dart to second, freezing Winker enough to get the out.