The Arizona Diamondbacks crushed the Texas Rangers 9-1 in Game 2 of the World Series Saturday night, but there was one bit of drama left heading into the 9th inning. Tommy Pham of the Diamondbacks was due to bat, and he was already 4-for-4. If he were to get a fifth hit, he would become the first player ever to go 5-for-5 in a World Series game, per ESPN. However, he gave up his chance at history by convincing manager Torey Lovullo to give fellow journeyman player Jace Peterson his at-bat, reports USA Today.
In the 8th inning, "he came to me and he said, 'I need to you get my boy an [at-bat],'" Lovullo told reporters on Sunday. "And I said, 'Are you sure? 100% sure?'" The score was 7-1 at the time, and Lovullo agreed to do so as long Texas didn't get any more runs, per Arizona Sports. They did not, and Peterson got his at-bat, during which he grounded into a forceout, though he ended up scoring a run a bit later. "I had no idea about the records until after the game," said Peterson. "If I would have known that was the deal, I would have told him no chance, no way."
Lovullo said it was a "moment where it was a teammate loving a teammate to give him an opportunity," an example of a player putting the team above himself. Pham told reporters it was an easy decision: "Me and (Peterson) have close to nine years of service time, so it took us close to nine years to get to a World Series," he told reporters. "This opportunity doesn't come so often. He's my guy and I'd do anything for him." The series is tied 1-1 heading into Game 3 Monday night. (More World Series stories.)
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