Carlos Gonzalez stepped up in a tied game, top of the eighth, with a chance to drive in the go-ahead run. Things got chaotic fast. On the first pitch, he took a big swing and lost control of his bat, which went flying down the right-field line. A fan scooped it up and handed it back, with Gonzalez adding grip tape to try to avoid another mess. The situation repeated itself again on the next pitch. New bat, another swing, another bat launch. At this point, teammates were laughing and fans were ducking.
After getting yet another bat, Gonzalez returned determined to keep things under control. The catcher tried to fake him out by brushing the dirt, but Gonzalez swung hard again. This time, the bat stayed in his hands. He did strike out, but in this case, the small win was that no one had to dive for cover. The bench celebrated the tiny success. No RBI, no go-ahead run, just a guy finally holding on to his bat.