In his first game back from the injured list, Joc Pederson drove in the first run and scored the last in the Giants’ 5-4 win over the Mets.
On the latter, Pederson went from first to third on a Mike Yastrzemski double in the eighth inning, punctuating his trip around the bases with a feet-first slide that looked more like a stop-drop-and-roll.
“I was flying,” Pederson said postgame.
Because of the way Pederson slid, his right cleat got caught underneath his backside, ripping his pant leg.
“It wasn’t the most graceful,” Sunday’s starter Ross Stripling said of the slide. “It’s funny, because when he was running, I was like ‘Oh man, he’s moving. He looks good.’ And then caps it off with a slide like that. I heard on the broadcast, they said it was the opposite of a Trea Turner slide. That’s about right.”
Thairo Estrada, who blasted his fourth home run of the season earlier in the game, said Pederson got a great jump off the bat. Estrada was on deck at the time, signaling to Pederson to get down as he approached home. That gave the second baseman the best vantage point of Pederson’s goofy slide.
Stripling theorized that Pederson initially missed home plate and tried to readjust his body mid-slide. Pederson’s explanation carried more water.
Pederson was on the injured list with wrist inflammation, but his lower body also isn’t 100%, he said. He’s been wearing a brace on his right leg while on the base paths and didn’t want to put too much pressure on it during the slide.
“I didn’t really want to brace myself,” Pederson said. “So I just kind of rolled.”
No matter what it looks like, a run’s a run. And in a game with four lead changes, with a series split on the line, Pederson delivered.
“We’ll take it all day,” Stripling said.