When the final out of game number 162 is recorded roughly five months from now, there is an exceptionally good chance that very few people will remember game number two; unless, of course, the Dodgers miss making the postseason by one game. The reason is because game number two was what I have long referred to as a ‘SHW‘ (Should Have Won) game. But should the Dodgers indeed miss the playoffs by one measly game, you can bet that Dodgers second baseman Max Muncy will never forget game number two.

With the score tied 1-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning and Rockies Designated Hitter C.J. Cron on first base having led off the inning with a single to left, Rockies third baseman Ryan McMahon hit a ground ball to Muncy that even he will tell you should have been a routine double play. But instead, Muncy bobbled the ball just long enough that his only play was to Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman to get McMahon. As such, instead of being a routine 4-6-3 double play and because an out was recorded, the play will forever be in the record books as a Fielder’s Choice instead of an error. Cron would then take third on a wild pitch by Dodgers left-hander Tyler Anderson and scored on a single to left by Rockies first baseman Conner Joe (remember that name, folks) to make it 2-1 Colorado instead of it still being tied 1-1.

Although the Dodgers would again tie the game 2-2 in the top of the eighth on a deflected infield single by Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts, that ugly Fickle finger of fate would once again be pointed directly at Max Muncy.

With two outs and the bases loaded in that fateful eighth inning, Muncy, on the very first pitch from Rockies right-hander Carlos Estevez (who had just entered the game), flied out weakly to Rockies center fielder Sam Hillard, thereby missing the single greatest opportunity the Dodgers would have to blow the game wide open – botched double play notwithstanding. The Rockies would ultimately win the game on a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning by that Connor Joe fellow off of Dodgers left-hander Tyler Anderson to hand the Dodgers their first loss of the two-day-old 2022 season.

“We had a chance to win … we had a couple chances,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said postgame.

Despite the loss, the game wasn’t without its positive moments for Dodgers fans. In the top of the third inning, Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes hit the team’s first home run of 2022 – a mammoth 453-foot solo shot to very deep left-center field.

And then, in the bottom of the fifth inning, Dodgers All-Star third baseman Justin Turner made a spectacular diving catch into the Dodgers dugout on a pop foul by Rockies right fielder Charlie Blackmon; a play that Dodgers broadcaster Charley Steiner called “The Defensive Play of the Year, so far.”

But again, unless the Dodgers miss the postseason by one game 160 games from now, game number two will, in all likelihood, be nothing more than one of those ‘SHW‘ games and will, in all likelihood, be forgotten by all.

…except for Max Muncy, that is.

Play Ball!

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