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Brendan Donnelly's slider a real curve ball
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Yet another example of how you can see something new at a baseball game, now matter how many games you have attended over the years, was evidenced Friday night against the Cincinnati Reds.
Florida Marlins reliever Brendan Donnelly took care of that.
With a full count on Brandon Phillips, no outs and a runner on first in the eighth Friday, John Baker called for a slider. But the pitch surprised him. That's because he never expected it so soon.
Donnelly stepped off the rubber, but instead of throwing to first, Donnelly delivered the slider in one quick motion.
Phillips flied out, but second base umpire Jim Joyce called an illegal pitch because Donnelly was not in contact with the rubber. An illegal pitch is an automatic ball, so because Phillips had a three-ball count, he was awarded first base.
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Juan Rodriguez reported that Donnelly was just fulfilling a promise he made to his teammates.
"It really goes back to the first day I joined the team," he said. "I told the guys, 'Look, one thing about me, you watch me long enough you're going to see something you've never seen before.' Apparently I chose [Friday] night to fulfill my duty. I couldn't be a liar.
"I was thinking about throwing over to first and as I started to step, I'm not sure exactly what happened. I felt like I was balking and then I buckled and threw a pitch. It was all in milliseconds, obviously. I wish I could say me and Baker worked on it beforehand and he gave me the sign for it," Donnelly told Marlins beat reporters.
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