Josh Harrison pulled out some Houdini-type magic on Friday night when he somehow got out of pickle with some incredible baserunning moves against the Mets.
After singling and stealing second in the bottom of the 10th, Harrison was caught in a rundown after Grigor Polanco grounded into a fielder’s choice. The guy should have been out about five times, but he tumbled, rolled and hustled his way safely into third. And he was in the rundown long enough to allow Polanco to get to second.
Despite having runners on second and third with nobody out and then bases loaded with one out, the Pirates were unable to score. They were able to win it, though, an inning later when Harrison hit a walk-off double.
Not to ruin some truly fantastic Benny The Jet Rodriguez type maneuvers, but Harrison should have been called out for running out of the baseline to avoid the tag in that pickle.
Via the MLB rules:
Any runner is out when —
(a) (1) He runs more than three feet away from his baseline to avoid being tagged unless his action is to avoid interference with a fielder fielding a batted ball. A runners baseline is established when the tag attempt occurs and is a straight line from the runner to the base he is attempting to reach safely
Below is video of Harrison’s walk-off double:
