Josh Rojas created the two-strike bunt in spring training after determining that, given his pace, laying one down would be more likely than swinging at it.
The Arizona third baseman had yet to try it this season despite the analytics being in his favor because he was afraid of looking silly if the ball rolled foul for a strikeout.
Dad’s motivational speech persuaded Rojas to give it a shot. San Francisco’s infield shift gave him a chance, and he seized it flawlessly.
The Diamondbacks defeated the Giants 6-2 on Tuesday night, with Rojas kicking off Arizona’s five-run eighth inning with a two-strike bunt single and Daulton Varsho capping it with a three-run homer.
When you bunt, and it goes foul, Rojas added, “that’s when it gets scary because you look like a complete moron.” You can raise your 0-2 batting average from.100-.200 to.500-.600 if you can get over that, look at the numbers and put half of them in play (I think I could get more than half).
Defeat of Giants
Rojas came in as a pinch bat in the eighth inning and mishandled two pitches from Dominic Leone, who was throwing hard (3-1). The Giants moved their infielders to the right side with a 1-2 count.
On Leone’s subsequent delivery, Rojas squared to bunt but withdrew when he realized the breaking ball wasn’t a strike. The next pitch was precisely what Rojas wanted: a fastball, which he placed cleanly down the third-base line for the majors’ first out.
With his increased speed, Rojas drew several pickoff throws from Leone to first base. He later advanced to third on Cooper Hummel’s single. Varsho’s home run to the right-center pool deck, which he completed by scoring the go-ahead run on a wild pitch, guaranteed the Diamondbacks their first series victory over their NL West opponents since May 2019. Mark Melancon finished it with a flawless tenth, as reported by Fox10phoenix.
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo stated, “There’s no preparation to doing it.” “When you notice that the field has changed and there is a clear path for you to get a base hit if you play well, it’s just an innate move. Josh carried out that.”
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