Bichette discusses Blue Jays' crucial out at plate
If there’s one thing that defines the game of Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette, it’s a tendency to seemingly always give his all in whatever he’s doing.
But unfortunately for Blue Jays fans — and Bichette himself — that aggressiveness has a history of sometimes coming back to bite the team.
During Game 2 of last year’s opening playoff series against the Seattle Mariners, Bichette and outfielder George Springer infamously collided into each other on the Rogers Centre turf, allowing three runs to score en route to Toronto blowing an 8-1 lead in an elimination playoff game.
And while Bichette wasn’t involved in any injury-causing plays in Game 1 of Toronto’s Wild Card series against the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday, he was once again the centre of a high-leverage play that didn’t quite go Toronto’s way.
In the fourth inning, Bichette stood on second base with two outs, Kevin Kiermaier at the plate for Toronto, and Alejandro Kirk on first base.
Kiermaier hit a short dribbler that eluded the glove of Minnesota third baseman Jorge Polanco and would’ve given Toronto a bases-loaded opportunity had everyone stayed put. With Toronto down 3-0 at the time, it was a prime opportunity to score some runs with Matt Chapman next to bat.
Bichette, though, had other plans and attempted to round third base before ultimately being thrown out at home plate with a highlight reel throw from Twins shortstop Carlos Correa.
This look at Carlos Correa's play to get Bichette is jaw dropping pic.twitter.com/88HucwqTKy
— Superdrunkmark69 (@cjzer0) October 3, 2023
“I mean, I went because I thought I was going to be safe… I was being aggressive, but I thought I was going to be safe. I thought it was worth a chance,” Bichette told reporters following the game. “I thought he would have to make a great play to get me out, and he did.”
The play, of course, ended the inning, with Toronto ultimately falling 3-1 on the day for their sixth consecutive postseason loss dating back to 2016.
In any case, the Twins and Jays hit the field again at Target Field for Game 2 of the Wild Card series, which is a must-win for Toronto to keep their season alive. First pitch is set for 1:38 pm PT/4:38 pm ET, with Jose Berrios expected to take the mound for Toronto against Sonny Gray for Minnesota.
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