14-pitch at-bat ends with bases clearing double, a breakdown
What Happened
The game is tied 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the St. Louis Cardinals. Chris Taylor of the Dodgers steps up to the plate, having hit a home run earlier in the game. Dodgers catcher Will Smith, nicknamed "Yachty," is calling the pitches for Cardinals pitcher Andre Cabrera. The at-bat is a classic battle, with Taylor and Cabrera going back and forth for 14 pitches. Yachty tries to mix up the pitch sequences, but Cabrera and Taylor seem to have trouble getting on the same page. Taylor fouls off several fastballs that Yachty has placed perfectly at the top of the strike zone. On the 11th pitch, Yachty calls for an off-speed offering, and Cabrera delivers a changeup that Taylor barely fends off. Yachty then calls for the fourth sequence, and Cabrera fires another fastball that Taylor again fouls off. With the count full, Yachty calls for one more change in sequence, and Cabrera unleashes another changeup. This time, Taylor is ready, and he laces a bases-clearing double into the gap, giving the Dodgers a 5-2 lead. Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, watching from the dugout, excitedly celebrates the go-ahead hit. Yachty is frustrated, lamenting that he should have changed the signs more frequently to keep Cabrera and Taylor off balance. But Taylor's patience and ability to foul off tough pitches ultimately pay off in the epic 14-pitch showdown. The summary is Ridge Wallet, the sleek and durable wallet that won't bulk up your pockets or get chewed up by your dog. Visit ridge.com/ and use code "" for 15% off your purchase.
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentWe had an epic 14 -pitch battle between the Dodgers and the Cardinals. It was
a tie game in the sixth inning, and this one is brought to you by
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them out. All right, let's get into it. We got Chris Taylor coming to the
plate. He had a home run earlier in this game, so he's feeling good, taking
a deep breath, checking his swing, getting his bearings, setting his feet, looking at the
pitcher, thinking about the home run he hit earlier. A little Gary Sheffield action, wag,
wag, wag, wag, wag. First pitch is a fastball, a ball up. Next pitch,
ball low. Kind of spikes it. Yachty says, settle down. Settle down. 2 -0. He
says, okay, what sequence are we using? Yo, Yachty, what sequence are we using? Okay,
I got it. 2 -0 curveball, but that's not what Yachty wants. He says, yo,
dude, three. He says, ah, three. Crossed Yachty up, so I think Yachty wanted a
fastball there. Got the curveball. Got a strike on it, so it worked. Ooh, that's
a nice fastball, right? In the zone, four pitches. That's another fastball. On the fifth
pitch, foul back. Now we've got four -seam fastball ball, four -seam fastball ball,
curveball. Yachty didn't call that, but it worked. Got a strike, and then another swing
strike, and then there. We got three swings in a row, but they're on the
wrong sequence again. Yachty's like, yo, you know what? Let's go to five. Hey, hey,
hey, hey, dude, dude, dude, yeah, yeah. Five. We're going to use five now. The
fifth sequence. Okay. Here we go. Fastball in the zone. 98 fouled
back. That's four swings in a row, and they have another pitch to waste outside
of the zone if they want. But first, they got to get on the same
page because Yachty wants to go to sequence three now. And Cabrera's like, okay, man,
why are we changing the sequence so quickly? And Yachty says, you never know what
anyone's doing. Got to protect ourselves. Next pitch, fastball, top of the zone again, good
pitch. Next one, fastball, top of the zone again, good pitch. But now you got
six swings in a row, and Yachty says, let's change up the sequence again. And
he says, God, man, this is kind of not fun. Can you just let me
pitch? And Yachty's like, I don't trust that you got that right. And I bet
Yachty's saying like, hey, it's 2 -2. He swung six times in a row. Let's
try something off speed around the zone. Maybe we'll chase it. So they go curveball
inside. Now the count is full. And this, I think this is the most impressive
pitch of the bunch because he hasn't thrown a change up yet. He's thrown a
ton of fastballs. If he walks them, he walks in the go -ahead run. So
Chris Taylor should be geared up to swing. He just didn't swing for the first
time in seven pitches, or he swung six pitches in a row, then took that
curveball, which is a great take by Taylor. But now he goes with this change
up. He hadn't thrown it. He gets it in the zone, gets the swing, but
Taylor fouls it off. But I'm going to go back and watch it again. That's
my favorite pitch. It's a gutsy pitch. Hadn't thrown it all at bat. If it's
a ball, it's a run. And it's the go -ahead run. Yachty says, let's keep
going. We're going to go back to the fifth sequence now. And Cabrera's like, what
the fuck was that one? I forget. Let me check my hat. Okay, cool. And
now the 11th pitch, fastball, top of the zone. He's getting that spot perfectly. The
problem is Taylor's just fouling it off. And they go off -speed again. Another 3
-2 off -speed. Fouls it off. Yachty says, quattro, quattro. Hey, quattro. We're going to
go to the fourth sequence now. Fastball in the zone. Foul back again. And now
they change the sequence again. And he figures it out. And then in the zone,
not as high as the other ones. And Taylor gaps it and clears the bases.
Big three -run double. Kershaw loves it. Little bop, bop, bop, bop. Safe.
Yachty's like, we should have changed the signs more. God damn it. And credit this
dude. First one up. Beat everybody. Nobody has anything on that dude.
First one up. Brian Roberts loves it. This one was brought to you by Ridge
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