Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Justin Dean entered Game 6 of the World Series as a defensive substitution in the ninth inning. He might have saved the Dodgers’ season — not because of his glove but because of his head.
After Addison Barger’s ninth-inning double wedged into the Rogers Centre wall on Friday, Dean threw his hands up. As a result, the ball was ruled dead, preventing the Blue Jays from scoring on the play.
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The ground-rule double held Barger at second and Myles Straw at third with no outs.
Had Dean tried to fish the ball out, it would have stayed live, and Straw likely would’ve scored. Plus, in that scenario, Barger could’ve advanced to third, where he would have been 90 feet away from tying the game. At that point, a sacrifice fly would’ve done the trick for Toronto.
Instead, Barger’s extra-base hit remained a two-bagger, and Toronto remained in a 3-1 hole.
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“I was just trusting the rule is the rule and trusting that ball will fit into the description,” Dean said after the game. He also credited left fielder Kiké Hernández for yelling at him to put his hands up.
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However, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts noted one mistake on Dean’s part after the game.
“It was great, but as the rule is current, you want to play that ball, actually, and you can go back and replay the lodged ball,” Roberts said. “But he still was aware of it being lodged, and then the outfield umpire blew it dead as well, so it worked out great, but certainly good awareness.”
What made Dean’s heads-up play significant was what came next, however.
Ernie Clement, one of three Blue Jays players with two hits in Game 6, immediately popped out. And then Hernández scurried to turn two from left field, catching a line drive from Andrés Giménez before throwing out a backtracking Barger at second.
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Just like that, Toronto went from runners on second and third with no outs, one swing away from erasing a two-run deficit, to staring down a Game 7 against the defending champion Dodgers.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider said he had never seen a play like that in his four seasons on the job at Rogers Centre.
“Been here a long time. I haven’t seen a ball get lodged ever,” he said. “Just caught a tough break there. He put a really good swing on that pitch and ultimately ended up second and third with nobody out with guys that make contact, and just didn’t get it done.”
There might not be Game 7 on Saturday without Dean and his baseball IQ. The soon-to-be 29-year-old didn’t make his MLB debut until this season. After grinding for years in the minors, he has emerged as a key pinch runner and defensive replacement for one of baseball’s most dominant clubs in 2025.
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The Division II Lenoir-Rhyne product still hasn’t had an at-bat this postseason. But Dean scored the tying run in the deciding game of the NLDS and swiped a base in the final game of the NLCS.
The Dodgers’ unheralded specialist made another special play Friday. This one came in Game 6 of the World Series, and it might have saved their season.
