Four remarkable outfield catches help Royals beat Angels
The Kansas City Royals don’t beat the Los Angeles Angels 3-2 in Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Thursday night without making four amazing plays in the outfield over 11 innings. Two catches in particular, by right fielder Nori Aoki with the score tied both times, might have stopped the hearts of teammates at Angel Stadium and fans watching there and on TV.
Three of the grabs were made with left-hander Jason Vargas on the mound, and he was appreciative:
“If we don’t make the catches that we did, we’re not in here celebrating,” Vargas said.
Aoki’s stab against the right-field fence in the sixth inning, with center fielder Lorenzo Cain thoughtfully contorting himself in order to avoid smashing into his teammate at the last moment, robbed Howie Kendrick of extra bases and prevented at least two runs from scoring that would have given the Angels a lead.
An inning later, Aoki took a circuitous route but made another dastardly catch, falling on the warning track but robbing Chris Cron of an extra-base hit that also would have given the Angels a lead.
It’s hard to say which of Aoki’s catches was stranger. Kendrick voted for his, via MLB.com:
“That was one of the weirdest plays I’ve seen all year,” Kendrick said. “I was surprised. I got a first-hand view. Cain stabbed at it and missed, and Aoki made a crazy play. It could have been a different game.”
With those bullets dodged — and the Angels would have other scoring chances later — the Royals took the lead in the 11th on a home run by Mike Moustakas and won 3-2. Angels manager Mike Scioscia differs on one point, though:
“This game was not won and lost in that 11th inning. This game was won by Kansas City with four incredible defensive plays. Lorenzo Cain and Aoki in right field, that’s where the game was won for Kansas City.”
Cain himself made two tremendous but more conventional catches. In the first, he leaped high at the fence in center to take extra bases away from Kole Calhoun, who had swung at the first pitch from Vargas. Cain didn’t steal a homer because of the height of the fence, but the chilling effect seemed similar. The tone had been set.
An inning later, Cain sprinted in from center to steal a hit from Erick Aybar, cradling the ball with his glove into his stomach for the final out.
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David Brown is an editor for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter!
