TORONTO — In the fifth inning of Saturday afternoon’s Blue Jays-Yankees game, a new kind of play unfolded at Rogers Centre — or at least it nearly did.
At that point in the game, the Blue Jays were leading the Yankees, 3-1. Bo Bichette was at third and Isiah Kiner-Falefa was at first when Justin Turner stepped in to face Yankees right-hander Jake Cousins with two outs.
On an 0-2 pitch, Turner hit a ground ball to shortstop Anthony Volpe, who flipped to second baseman Gleyber Torres to force out Kiner-Falefa. Simple enough, right? Inning over. On to the next.
Quietly, though, there was more going on here. See the frustration from Kiner-Falefa It’s because he’s realizing he missed a chance to do something the Blue Jays have been talking about behind the scenes, something he’s seen other teams do but hasn’t yet done himself: run straight through the bag to give his team a chance to score an unexpected run.
“I was pissed at myself,” Kiner-Falefa said. “I’ve been freaking looking for that opportunity for years. At first I was going as hard as I can, and at the last second I was like, ‘Why did I slide?’ I was mad at myself. So mad. The Yankees taught me that, and to do it against them? I was like, ‘Dang, brain fart.’”
To be fair to Kiner-Falefa, the play he’s talking about is new and counterintuitive, which means even big-leaguers are still getting used to. Everyone from little league on up is taught to slide into second base on a force play, and most of the time that’s exactly what baserunners should do.
But on close, potential inning-ending plays where there’s a runner at third, the runner at first base has an alternative: instead of sliding, run full speed past second base just like a runner would at first. Doing so maximizes speed and creates the possibility that the force out won’t be recorded in time.
Eventually, the baserunner is going to be out — he just sprinted into shallow left field, so he’ll be an easy mark in a rundown or called out for veering too far outside the baselines — but not before his team scores a run that otherwise wouldn’t have counted.
“Such a smart play,” said Kiner-Falefa, who was scratched from Monday’s lineup after experiencing soreness in his left knee during pre-game warmups.
The strategy first surfaced in June 2022, when Nolan Gorman ran through second base with the bases loaded, allowing the Cardinals to score. Afterward, Pirates manager Derek Shelton called it “one of the most heads-up baseball plays you’ll ever see.”
Since then, other teams have taken note, including the Yankees and Blue Jays.
“The NL started it and now AL teams are catching up,” Kiner-Falefa said.
Although the Blue Jays have yet to complete the play successfully, George Springer and Kevin Kiermaier have also attempted it as baserunners, according to manager John Schneider. On a play last season, Danny Jansen ran through third with similar intent. As the season unfolds, expect to see it again.
“In certain situations, yeah, absolutely,” Schneider said. “The natural instinct on a play like that is to run and slide, but there’s a time to try to beat the play … so it’s just calculating, ‘Can I beat (the throw)?’ But yeah, I like it.”
Still, executing this play is easier said than done. Not only does it run counter to players’ instincts, there are lots of variables to weigh in the moment. As Kiner-Falefa points out: “What if the guy doesn’t throw to second base, and throws to first? Or is it actually a hit?”
On Saturday, for instance, his body was saying one thing and his mind was saying another.
“My steps told me to slide, but I’m trying to keep going at the same time,” he said. “I caught myself.”
In response to the baserunners, infielders have had to adjust, too. For instance, on the play Saturday, Volpe probably should have thrown to first base to retire Turner, a relatively slow runner, instead of risking chaos at second.
This play even creates a visual and territorial challenge for infielders, who aren’t used to baserunners coming right at them so close to second base on double-play attempts. As Kiner-Falefa said, “guys aren’t sliding now.” Likely, that element of surprise is part of the reason the play works.
All things considered, the baserunners now have an edge — as long as they’re able to find the right spots to claim it. And after missing his chance against the Yankees, Kiner-Falefa will be looking for a chance to try it again as soon as possible.
“Just keep running,” he said.