Game 2 of the NLDS between the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers was a unique one in that a goose made its way out onto the field in the bottom of the eighth inning and took center stage, stealing the show from the players out on the field.
That goose seemed to have a positive effect on left-hander Josh Hader.
Hader took the mound with two outs in the eighth and ended up recording the save after an inning-and-a-third of work.
Interestingly, it just so happens that Hader joined Goose Gossage in team history, who had a four-out save in the 1984 NLCS, and he did it on a night when a literal goose found its way onto the field.
Josh Hader threw 1.1 innings for the Game 2 save.
The first Padres player to record a postseason save of more than one inning? Goose Gossage in the 1984 NLCS.
Fitting.
H/T @AJCassavell pic.twitter.com/sY12w742Yy
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) October 13, 2022
Goosebumps
Surely, this will give people some “goosebumps.”
The timing could not have been any better.
Gossage was obviously the first Padres pitcher to record a save with a 1.1 inning outing, having done it in 1984.
38 years later, Hader did the same, and did so after an actual goose took the field.
You might say that Hader quite literally felt the “goose” magic.
The Padres won the game by a final of 5-3 to even the series before it shifts to San Diego.
Perhaps if the Padres find a way to win this series, they can consider the goose a “rally goose.”
It certainly helped Hader out as he shut the door on the Dodgers and gave San Diego their first NLDS win since 2006.
Now, we’ll see if the goose can turn into something that the Padres can rally around as they try to knock out the Dodgers and reach the NLCS for the first time since 1998.
NEXT: The Padres Broke A Painfully Long Drought With Game 2 Win