Max Muncy and Ildemaro Vargas left the Dodgers-Diamondbacks game after a violent collision at first base in the top of the fifth inning on Thursday night, a play that turned a routine ground ball into an immediate injury scare. Both players went to the ground, and both later walked off under their own power, but not before the matchup changed in a hurry.
The play came with two outs when Muncy hit a hard ground ball down the line and Vargas fielded it behind first base. With Diamondbacks pitcher Ryne Nelson not covering the bag, Vargas took the chance himself and tried to beat Muncy to first. Muncy got there a split-second first, and the collision followed. The Dodgers were already ahead in the inning when Ryan Ward doubled to right-center after Corbin Carroll misjudged the ball, then Dalton Rushing added a bloop single to center. By the time the fifth ended, Los Angeles led 2-0 after scoring twice in the frame, and the loss of both players was the price of a single play at first.
That kind of bang-bang contact is exactly why the moment stood out. Both men were able to leave on their own, which offered some relief, but the collision was violent enough to force both out of the game and leave the next steps uncertain. No specific injury was announced, and there was no immediate word on how long either would be sidelined. For the Dodgers, it was a sudden interruption to a game they had taken control of; for Vargas and the Diamondbacks, it was the kind of play that can linger long after the inning ends.
Thursday also brought a separate update on Corbin Burnes, who said at Chase Field that his shoulder tightness came out of nowhere. Burnes said he felt it on one or two pitches, then added that everything else felt really good in live batting practice. He is shut down from throwing for now, another setback for a pitcher who said he had pushed his Tommy John rehab to return two months early and believed the problem had more to do with the time away from competitive action than the surgery itself. He also said he does not think the rehab caused the strain.
Burnes' situation adds another layer to a day already defined by health questions. The Diamondbacks also optioned right-hander Brandon Pfaadt to Triple-A Reno on Thursday as they look for a better rotation answer there. But for the night game in front of them, the only thing that mattered was the collision at first and the two players who walked away from it, still carrying the force of it with them.
