After Saturday’s loss to the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays star Bo Bichette explained what happened on the game’s final play, when he was thrown out at home plate by Alex Verdugo.
Toronto trailed 7-5 with two outs, George Springer on third base, Bichette as the tying run on second base and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at the plate. It briefly appeared as though Guerrero delivered a game-tying single, as sent took an 0-2 pitch from Kenley Jansen into right field for a single. Verdugo, though, came up with a strong throw and threw Bichette out at the plate to end the game.
And if that sounds like it was a dramatic ending, it wasn’t. When Boston catcher Connor Wong fielded the throw from Verdugo, Bichette wasn’t even in the camera shot.
https://twitter.com/BarnHasSpoken2/status/1675273090148827137
So, what happened?
Bichette explained the final play after the game.
“I knew the situation,” he said, per Keegan Matheson, MLB.com. “If we could score the run I needed to be aggressive and get there, but I also knew the ball was hit to their best thrower. I kind of assumed I’d be stopped, but I didn’t really see anything.”
Bo Bichette on the final play:
“I knew the situation. If we could score the run I needed to be aggressive and get there, but I also knew the ball was hit to their best thrower. I kind of assumed I’d be stopped, but I didn’t really see anything.” #BlueJays
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) July 1, 2023
The replays seem to feed into the confusion.
The SportsNet feed (seen above) shows Bichette briefly pausing after rounding third base. A wider angle view shows that while third base coach, Luis Rivera, did put his hands up for Bichette, it was a late signal.
Here's the wide view of that final play.
It looks like there was a hesitation as Bichette rounded third base looking at the sign. #BlueJays pic.twitter.com/Os1ffpPTkZ
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) July 1, 2023
Given how hard Guerrero hit the ball and the strength of Verdugo’s arm, that’s a play that the Blue Jays likely needed to execute perfectly. Instead, they got a lot of confusion and ultimately, a frustrating game-ending play.
[Dillon Barnhart, Keegan Matheson]
