You read that right, five strikeouts in one inning. But last night as the RiverDogs went to extras with the Augusta GreenJackets, it wasn’t a normal extra inning.
Normally, if a batter accumulates three strikes, they make the obligatory walk of shame back to the dugout. But if the catcher fails to catch the ball after the batter swings for their third strike (say a wild pitch or just drops the ball), a batter can attempt to advance to first. The at-bat goes down as a K for the pitcher, but the batter is not ruled out and remains on base if they successfully make it to first without being tagged. Normally that scenario is still a pretty routine out; the runner jogs toward first and the catcher zips the ball past him for the out. But sometimes, the catcher can’t corral the ball or the ball, for whatever reason, doesn’t make it to the baseman in time. *Cue Benny Hill theme.* In that case, play continues with no additional outs.
Well, that happened twice last night, giving the RiverDogs the dubious honor as one of the only teams to have ever recorded a five-strikeout inning. It’s never happened in the majors, but our hometown boys actually did it previously in 2011.
Not only did the Dogs fail to get their outs the easy way, they allowed all those runners to advance and gave up four runs in the inning. They lost the game 6-2 after they couldn’t answer in the bottom of the 10th.
Here’s the tape of the final out:
[embed-1]
And here’s how it’s scored, since you won’t see this again for at least another 5 years:
-Gustavo Cabrera strikes out swinging.
-Jean Angomas strikes out swinging. Wild pitch by pitcher James Reeves. Jean Angomas to 1st.
-Adam Sonabend strikes out swinging.
-With Manuel Geraldo batting, Jean Angomas steals (5) 2nd base.
-Manuel Geraldo strikes out swinging. Wild pitch by pitcher James Reeves. Manuel Geraldo to 1st.
-Jalen Miller walks. Jean Angomas to 3rd. Manuel Geraldo to 2nd.
-Pitching Change: Andrew Schwaab replaces James Reeves.
-Seth Harrison singles on a line drive to right fielder Jhalan Jackson. Jean Angomas scores. Manuel Geraldo scores. Seth Harrison to 2nd. Jalen Miller advances to 3rd, on a missed catch error by first baseman Chris Gittens.
-Dillon Dobson singles on a line drive to center fielder Jeff Hendrix. Jalen Miller scores. Seth Harrison scores.
-Dylan Davis strikes out swinging.
Love Best of Charleston?
Help the Charleston City Paper keep Best of Charleston going every year with a donation. Or sign up to become a member of the Charleston City Paper club.