The scene that will endure from Tuesday's National League Wild Card Game between the Milwaukee Brewers and Washington Nationals involves Milwaukee right fielder Trent Grisham. You know the one -- where a Juan Soto single took a funny hop, eluding Grisham and permitting the Nationals to score three runs and take the lead in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Grisham, who was in the lineup only because of Christian Yelich's season-ending injury, addressed the media about the play after his team's 4-3 loss. Here's how he explained what happened, per MLB.com:
"I was getting ready to throw to home. I came in a little off balance and it took a bit of a funky hop on me," Grisham said. "It hurt. It wasn't ideal. It's not how you want your first playoff game to go. We expected to win. All kinds of thoughts and emotions are running through my head. It just stings right now."
Grisham, 22, hit .231/.328/.410 (90 OPS+) in 51 games with the Brewers this season. It's worth noting he'd made alterations to his game in the minors that allowed him this opportunity in the first place. We wrote more about those back when he was tabbed as Yelich's replacement.
It's also worth noting that Grisham didn't craft the meltdown on his own. Brewers closer Josh Hader allowed the bottom of Washington's order to get a rally started. First by plunking Michael A. Taylor, then by permitting a Ryan Zimmerman broken-bat blooper before walking Anthony Rendon to load the bases. Hader battled his command throughout his lengthy inning-long appearance, and by the end of it the Brewers had Jordan Lyles warming in the bullpen.
For Grisham and the Brewers' sake, here's hoping he's able to move past what happened on Tuesday and can go on to author a memorable career for other reasons.
