Giants, Dodgers players the butt of jokes after high-end collision at first base
Chris Taylor ran face-first into the backside of 268-pound Pablo Sandoval. Both players tumbled to the ground.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The stadium was empty but Panda-monium broke out anyway at Friday night's Giants-Dodgers game in Los Angeles.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Dodgers utility player Chris Taylor had a not-quite-socially distanced run-in with Giants first baseman Pablo Sandoval (aka "Kung Fu Panda") that quickly went viral and turned into a meme for the moment we're living through.
Taylor was racing toward first just as Sandoval was leaping in a vain attempt to catch a high throw from third.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}BLUE JAYS TO PLAY IN BUFFALO MINOR LEAGUE PARK AMID PANDEMIC
Then it happened: Taylor ran face-first right into the backside of the 268-pound Sandoval. Both players went tumbling to the ground.
It wasn't quite a "Down goes Frazier!" moment -- but it was close. Social media users, of course, loved it.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Despite the crash, Taylor didn't appear hurt and he stayed in the game. The Dodgers went on to win 9-1, after beating the Giants 8-1 the previous night. (New Dodger Mookie Betts -- who recently signed a 12-year, $365 million contract -- went 1-for-6 Friday, with one RBI.)
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After the game, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts quipped, "Pablo is like a fire hydrant. I don’t like that matchup,” according to the Dodgersway website.