When the Dodgers released their starting lineup for Sunday afternoon’s series finale against the Angels of Anaheim, many – perhaps even most – Dodger fans fully expected that outfielder Andrew Toles would not be in it.

He was.

If you recall, and let’s face it, who doesn’t, Toles committed a mental base running error the night before when, in the bottom of the 10th inning with no outs, hit what he thought was a game-tying opposite field home run and went into a home run trot as he rounded first base. There was only one problem … it wasn’t a home run.

Instead, it was a fly ball to the wall that got Angels left fielder Justin Upton all turned around and ended up bouncing off his glove. As a result, Toles was credited with a double that would have easily been a triple if he had run hard the entire way.

What infuriated Dodger fans most is that after rounding first base, the extremely popular 26-year-old Decatur, Georgia native raised both hands in what was perceived as a “What the ….” gesture because he had thought that the ball had gone out. As a result, many Dodger fans – myself included – naturally assumed that he had dogged it out of the batters box in what ended up being one of those a ‘Oh shoot’ (or something similar) moments after realizing that he had screwed up by not busting it all the way.

Here again, if you recall, both Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig and first baseman Cody Bellinger had been unceremoniously benched for doing the exact same thing earlier this season, which is way Dodger fans were surprised to see Toles’ name on Sunday’s lineup card.

It turns out that this wasn’t a ‘What the ….’ gesture by Andrew Toles. It also explains why he was in Sunday’s starting lineup when many (most) Dodger fans thought surely that he wound be benched.
(Video capture courtesy of Fox Sports)

As it turns out, our (or at least my) perception of what had happened was incorrect … significantly so.

During his pregame media scrum on Sunday morning, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was asked point-blank if he had spoken with Toles about what he himself had said on Saturday evening: “We expected him to be on third Base.” Much to the surprise of everyone, Roberts’ answer wasn’t the one expected:

“No, I didn’t. I talked to a couple of the coaches and it was more of confusion,” Roberts said. “Andrew’s never been a guy that doesn’t play hard, so I think that he obviously lost sight of the baseball [hence the hand gesture]. So, for a guy to make a … I don’t think that it was a mental mistake, I just think… and not a physical mistake, I just think it was just one of those things that he was confused on where the ball was. And once that happened, to keep running and to run into an out when you don’t know where the ball is, that’s not a good decision either.

“With Andrew, and I think you guys have seen, the only time I have a problem is [when] I think that there’s a lack of effort, and in this case I don’t think it was.”

Boom. End of discussion. All is well in the universe. We can all go back to loving Andrew Toles again.

…and just in the nick of time.

With the Dodgers holding onto a precarious 4-3 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning, the left-handed-hitting Toles reached across the plate and slapped a single into left field to give the Dodgers a huge insurance run to make it a 5-3 ballgame. And even though Dodgers All-Star closer would retire the Angels in order in the top of the ninth, that extra one-run cushion made Dodger fans – and undoubtedly Jansen – a lot more comfortable.

Toles’ eighth-inning slap single to left field on Sunday afternoon gave the Dodgers a huge insurance run. He ended up going 2-for-4 on the day, with a run scored in addition to his RBI. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

With their win on Sunday, coupled with the Arizona Diamondbacks loss to the Atlanta Braves, the Dodgers head into the (much-needed) All-Star break once again in sole possession of first place in the NL West.

…and how can you not absolutely love that?