There are traditional double plays in the infield, double plays at the plate, and then there was what the Cardinals did on Friday night against the Pirates.
Rodolfo Castro delivered a base hit to right field in the seventh inning of St. Louis’s game against Pittsburgh at PNC Park on Friday. A runner was already on second. Bryan Reynolds attempted to turn back to third after being sent home from second but failed to make it there safely.
Reynolds was put in a rundown when catcher Andrew Knizner hit him in the back with a throw, but third baseman Nolan Arenado caught the ball and fired it back to Knizner to get the out. Castro, meanwhile, made a huge turn past second and was unable to turn around before being caught out as well.
With two runners caught out when the club could have had both on base with just one out, the sequence was a catastrophe class in baserunning. In spite of this, Pittsburgh (51-86) defeated St. Louis 8-2 in game one of a three-game series.
It would have been a tremendous disappointment for the Pirates in a season full of low moments if that important inning had turned out to be crucial.