San Diego Padres rookie Graham Pauley struck out in the most brutal fashion against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday.
The Padres and Giants were deadlocked 2-2 when Pauley came up to bat against Giants relief pitcher Tyler Rogers in the top of the 8th inning.
Pauley foul-tipped the first pitch he saw from Rogers. The second one was a nasty sinker that was called a strike by home plate umpire Sean Barber. The 0-2 pitch was one Pauley probably wishes he could erase from the internet.
Swings at strike 3. The ball then hits him in the chest, then face.
Replays later show that it was a foul tip — which is not reviewable. So, the strikeout stood.
Rough at-bat for San Diego's Graham Pauley. pic.twitter.com/waWyrlzdDb
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) April 5, 2024
Pauley swung for the fences on a wicked 73-mph slider from Rogers that ended up hitting the Padres rookie in the chest and then the face.
The replays later showed that Pauley’s bat had actually made contact with the baseball, making it a foul ball. However, the umpire had already deemed it a swinging strike, which meant that Pauley had struck in cartoonishly bad fashion. The play was not reviewable.
The Giants ended up walking off the Padres an inning later to win 3-2.
Walk-off winner in The Bay! pic.twitter.com/TtgSS9Xnre
— MLB (@MLB) April 5, 2024
A 2021 quote from Rogers’ former Giants teammate Kevin Gausman has since resurfaced after Pauley’s strikeout made waves on X. Gausman accurately predicted that such a strikeout would happen eventually given the movement on Rogers’ off-speed pitches.
“You’re going to hit a lefty in the face one day, and the guy’s probably going to swing at it. Which is crazy to think about,” Gausman said to Rogers back in 2021.
Kevin Gausman to Tyler Rogers after the game, on how much his rising slider moves: "You're going to hit a lefty in the face one day, and the guy's probably going to swing at it. Which is crazy to think about."
— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) April 14, 2021
Rogers didn’t allow a baserunner Friday during his 8th inning appearance. Pauley went 0-3 with two strikeouts in the contest.
