Pitchers taking at-bats is now mostly a thing of the past in MLB thanks to the universal designated hitter, but some of the game’s most memorable moments have come when they were able to take swings.
From Clayton Kershaw hitting a home run on opening day to Rich Hill’s awkward battles, a pitcher at the plate always has the opportunity to provide an entertaining highlight. That proved to be true on Aug. 8, 2000, thanks to the efforts of Darren Dreifort in a 7-5 win against the Chicago Cubs.
Dreifort pitched 6.2 innings and gave up four runs (two earned) while striking out five and walking four to earn the win, but it was his two swings that helped make the difference for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In the fourth inning with the Cubs leading 3-2, Dreifort stepped to the plate against Phil Norton and blasted a home run to center field to tie the game. The homer increased the Dodgers’ win probability by 13%, taking them from a 43% chance to emerge victorious to a 56% chance.
L.A. went on to score three more runs before Dreifort stepped to the plate again in the fifth inning of a 6-3 ballgame. And just for good measure, Dreifort added to the lead with his second home run of the day, this time against Todd Van Poppel, but again hitting it to center field.
Dreifort’s second home run of the day all but clinched the win for the Dodgers, bringing them to a 93% win probability, up 5% from their mark before he hit the home run.
Dreifort finished the game 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI, bringing his season line to .167/.184/.417.
In total, the Dodgers hit five home runs against the Cubs that day, including ones from Kevin Elster, Gary Sheffield and Shawn Green. The win took their record to 59-53 and they went on to finish the season 86-76, good for second place in the National League West but not good enough to make the postseason.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts didn’t want Tyler Anderson to swing
After pinch-hitting for Manny Machado in the top of the eighth, the San Diego Padres had infielder Matthew Batten pitch the bottom half of the inning on Friday. The Dodgers then made their own change in the lopsided game with Tyler Anderson pinch-hitting for Freddie Freeman.
Anderson took the first pitch for ball, then swung at the next four offerings and struck out.
“I was hoping Tyler wouldn’t swing the bat,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “But I guess the competitive juices got going.”
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