You’ve got Paul Skenes making headlines with his blazing fastballs as a rookie. You’ve got Roman Anthony smashing baseballs like missiles to announce his arrival. But then there’s the Dodgers’ rookie, Justin Dean, who didn’t even pitch or swing a bat. But he still played a huge role in pushing his team past Game 6 and forcing another series decider against the Blue Jays.

Notably, Dean started the year down in the minors with Oklahoma City. He made his MLB debut against the Blue Jays back in August. Fast forward to now, it’s his sharp instincts in the outfield that just cost Toronto a crucial extra base, and ultimately, the game. Afterward, Dean broke down that smart play. And honestly, his explanation is a perfect reminder of just how vital game awareness really is.

“I was just trusting that the rule and help it, and trusting that the ball fit into the description… It’s just something that you are taught from an early age, like. ‘Hey, if you see this, throw your hands up,’ like I said I’ve seen it half before… I saw the ball did not bounce back to me at all. I just trusted that that was going to be the call. And luckily, that was the call.” Dean shared his big-brain moment just when Addison Barger’s hit lodged into the fence padding.

So, what’s the story?

Reportedly, the Blue Jays were down 3–1 in the bottom of the ninth when Barger crushed a ball deep to left-center. Surely, it looked like trouble, but the ball landed right at the base of the wall and then got stuck there. Outfielders Enrique Hernandez and Dean immediately threw up their arms to signal a ground-rule double, and the umpires confirmed it.

So, what could’ve been a huge, run-scoring moment for Toronto suddenly turned into nothing… No runs scored, just runners on second and third with no outs. Then Tyler Glasnow came in, needed only three pitches to retire the side, and finished things off with an incredible double play.

We all thought the Jays were about to pull off a comeback when Barger first made contact. It felt like maybe even they can get their ticket to the World Series. But the second that ball got wedged in the wall, everything flipped. And now, there’s a Game 7 on deck, all thanks to a sharp play by a Dodgers rookie.

The Dodgers just had a proper application of the lodge ball rule

While there would be discussion about whether the Dodgers are given an unfair advantage, MLB’s lodge ball rule states that what they did is correct.

So, what does MLB’s lodge ball rule state?

According to Rule 4 of MLB’s official ground rules, if a fair ball gets stuck or “lodges” in the fence padding, it automatically counts as a ground-rule double. And once that happens, the play is dead. The batter gets second base, and all other runners advance only two bases from where they were when the pitch was thrown.

So, when that ball off Barger’s bat wedged itself at the bottom of the wall, the umpires made the correct call by ruling it a ground-rule double. Fan reactions lit up social media after the bizarre lodged-ball play. “It’s a dead ball rule — one in a million shot,” wrote one user, while another clarified that umpires made the right call once the fielder signaled it was stuck.

Others took a humorous spin, joking, “The ball is the Canadian economy, and the wall is 10 years of liberal mismanagement.” In classic baseball fashion, the moment sparked equal parts rule debate and comedy online.

The Blue Jays might’ve felt hard done by, but the play was perfectly within the rules.

In fact, it highlights just how alert the Dodgers’ outfielders were, especially Justin Dean and Enrique Hernandez. That kind of quick thinking and game awareness is what separates great teams in high-pressure moments.

So, the Dodgers didn’t bend the rules… They simply understood them better and used that knowledge to their advantage.