With the San Diego Padres season on the line, Trent Grisham laid down a sacrifice bunt.
On Sunday, the Padres were down to their final two outs against the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 5 of the NLCS. In the eighth inning, Bryce Harper crushed a two-run home run to give the Phillies the 4-3 lead headed into the final three outs of the Padres season.
San Diego wasn’t out of it yet, as with one out the tying run was at second base and another was on first as Grisham came up to bat. In the most head-scratching moment of the season, Grisham then laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners to second and third, but wasted a precious out by doing so.
Tocar a Trent Grisham por que atrás venía Austin Bonds Nola 😬 pic.twitter.com/FVyCfOSnbA
— Erick José Lantigua (@EJLantigua) October 23, 2022
Unfortunately for the Padres, the next batter Austin Nola then popped out to seal their fate as the Phillies won the National League pennant.
OMG OMG WE DID IT WE'RE NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONS pic.twitter.com/0g3Jr4NMXT
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) October 23, 2022
Talk about a real frustrating way to end the season. After the game, Padres manager Bob Melvin explained the bizarre bunt from Grisham, which came down to gambling on the Phillies defense and the rain-slick grass.
Regarding Grisham’s bunt, Melvin said it was supposed to be something of a hybrid between a bunt for a hit and a sacrifice. They’d noticed 1B playing back, and with the wet grass, felt they could capitalize.
— AJ Cassavell (@AJCassavell) October 23, 2022
MLB fans predictably ripped the Padres after Grisham’s mind-boggling bunt cost San Diego a precious out in their final inning of the season.