Jacks in the box
The box with the dots tells the story of every at-bat. You can gauge the performance of a pitcher, batter, and umpire all in one neat little graphic.
Rarely does a dot in the box make you go wow.
But, uh, wow:
And here's what that blue dot looked like in real life:
I don't know how that pitch—that peculiar blue dot—turned into a back-breaking three-run homer. But it did. And at once it erased the Giants’ lead and cemented the worst start of Hayden Birdsong's young career.
The road to .500 features many twists and turns along the way. It contains a few eye-popping dots, too.
Up next: Blake Snell (1-3, 4.29 ERA) makes his first start since his no-hitter, facing Jake Irvin (8-9, 3.56 ERA) and the Nationals at 3:45 p.m. We’ll see if Snell can channel his inner Johnny Vander Meer.
Giants fan. Abrams + Wood are fun to watch. Still learning so they make a lot mistakes, but you can see them turn into stars. The Padres called them “jackrabbits.” They can wreak havoc quickly and turn a game upside down in just one inning.