Yasiel Puig stretches single to a double with a crafty slide

It’s still early in the season with a small sample size, but Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig is off to a great start and seems to be playing in a higher gear than at almost any time last season.

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He looked healthy and strong stretching a single into a double in the fifth inning Tuesday and managed to beat a tag from Arizona second baseman Jean Segura with a nifty slide in which he slid into the base with his left hand but went too far. He switched to the right hand but then went back to the left and was finally called safe.

Segura found himself on the ground on the opposite side of the bag trying to reach to tag Puig after collecting a throw from the outfield that came in low.

Maybe it was the emotion of playing in front of a huge crowd in the home opener that had Puig trying to steal an extra base or maybe it’s just that Puig is feeling more enthusiastic about playing the game and his results are demonstrating it. He’s hitting .379 through the first eight games with one home run and four RBI.

Puig struggled with injuries and maturity issues last season and played in just 79 games. He hit only .255 with 11 home runs. It was a dramatic drop from his rookie season in 2013 when he hit .319 with 19 home runs in just 121 more at-bats than he had last season.

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Unfortunately, Puig’s effort Tuesday wasn’t rewarded. His double came with two outs and Arian Gonzalez flied out to end the inning immediately after Puig’s unusual slide. Arizona came back to beat the Dodgers and their struggling bullpen 4-2.

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Kyle Ringo is a contributing writer to Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo