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It was only a matter of time before Yasiel Puig had his first Yasiel Puig moment on the basepaths. His aggressive, at time reckless style dictates it will happen frequently. Sometimes the results are thrilling. Other times you can't help but admire his tenacity. And then there are moments when you're left scratching your head.
Puig had one of those moments during the Dodgers 7-5 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks at the famed Sydney Cricket Ground in Australia on Saturday night. And don't get us wrong, the crowd there loved it almost as much as they love foul balls. It was their first Yasiel Puig thrill ride up close and personal, and they ate it up. But it was head-scratching nonetheless.
It happened immediately following Puig’s RBI single that put Los Angeles up 2-0 in the third inning. With no outs, Puig attempted to move up 90 feet to second base thinking the defense might focus on the runners ahead of him. It didn’t quite work out that way, and then all Puig broke loose.
Here’s how the entire scenario played out via @PuigAtBat on Twitter.
Mar 22, AB 2: Puig at bat!
— PuigAtBat (@PuigAtBat) March 23, 2014
Mar 22, AB 2: Yasiel Puig singles on a ground ball to left fielder Mark Trumbo. Hyun-Jin Ryu scores. Dee Gordon to 3rd. Yasiel Puig out at — PuigAtBat (@PuigAtBat) March 23, 2014
2nd on the throw, left fielder Mark Trumbo to third baseman Martin Prado to second baseman Aaron Hill to first baseman Paul Goldschmidt to
— PuigAtBat (@PuigAtBat) March 23, 2014
third baseman Martin Prado to second baseman Aaron Hill. — PuigAtBat (@PuigAtBat) March 23, 2014
That’s 7-5-4-3-5-4 if you're scoring at home or just prefer referring to baseball players by their position numbers.
Unfortunately, Puig's night would end a little prematurely following a couple different health scares. In his fourth inning plate appearance against Trevor Cahill, Puig was struck on the left elbow by a fastball. That led to our first Puig bat flip of the season, but everybody kept their cool and Puig was able to continue on at that point.
In the ninth inning, though, Puig was seen cringing following a swing and miss against D-Backs closer Addison Reed. After two more whiffs, Puig was double-switched out of the game in the bottom half, and then afterwards we learned this news from manager Don Mattingly.
Don Mattingly said Puig's back bothered him. Might have MRI and bone scan.
— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) March 23, 2014
That doesn't sound too good, and the long flight back to Arizona that awaits Puig doesn't sound like great therapy. If you look back at the rundown video too, that quick and powerful slide back into first base couldn't have done him any favors. That was awkward and quite a jolt to his body that he's lucky didn't result in a lower leg injury.

As it is, it may have contributed to the back ailment. He had a promising at-bat in the sixth inning where he ripped an RBI double, so it's just as possible there's no connection. But either way, if there's any good news for the Dodgers, it's that they have a full week before their next regular season game against the San Diego Padres. Time is on Puig's side, but an early season ailment isn't what the doctor or the Dodgers ordered.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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