Everything has gone right for the Detroit Tigers this season as they've jumped out to the best record in baseball. They won their seventh game in the last eight tries on Monday night, a resounding 13-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox, to move to 40-21. Kerry Carpenter hit three of the team's five home runs in the rout and Jack Flaherty kept the Chicago offense at bay.
But even really good teams benefit from lucky bounces and the Tigers got one in the bottom of the fifth while enjoying a comfortable 8-0 lead. Joshua Palacios lofted a pop-up near his home dugout, causing catcher Dillon Dingler and third baseman Zach McKinstry to converge on the area. Dingler had the first crack at corralling the ball but was unable to secure it with a sliding attempt.
What he did do, by total accident, was swat the ball toward McKinstry's shin. The utility man, surprised as anyone else, felt it deflect off his leg and stabbed it before it hit the ground for an unusual 2-5 putout.
if you need me i'll be watching this on repeat for the foreseeable future pic.twitter.com/3wWdxxwkyj
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) June 3, 2025
"I think I'll get to see it a couple times over again," Detroit manager A.J. Hinch said postgame of the juggling act. "Those are usually pretty popular. I mean, those are so funny. I'm not sure McKinstry actually knew he had it until he looked down."
Could these two replicate the play again? Probably not. And Billy Zane from Titanic taught us that a person makes their own luck—in this case fueled by hustle to end up in the right place at the right time.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Detroit Tigers Combine for Seemingly Impossible and Lucky Juggling Catch.