Nationals record memorable 3-4-1 putout after wild deflection
As you’ve probably read on this website or heard on a national baseball program, not a lot has gone right for the Washington Nationals of late. In fact, with Saturday’s 12-6 loss to the San Francisco Giants, they are now 58-58, which simply isn’t going to get it done in the National League.
In the midst of that most recent loss, which keep them at 4 1/2 games back in the NL East, they did manage to do one thing right. Though the game was already decided, they recorded a dynamic defensive gem, turning a potentially problematic deflection into a memorable 3-4-1 putout.
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It was, in a word, insane. In two words, we’d go with insanely glorious. To put it bluntly, it was the craziest defensive play we’ve seen all season.
It happened in the seventh inning with San Francisco’s Brandon Crawford at the plate. Crawford pulled a hard ground ball toward the hole on the right side, forcing first baseman Clint Robinson to lunge to his right to make a play. Robinson was only able to deflect the ball, sending it into the air. That’s where second baseman Anthony Rendon came to the rescue.
With a perfectly timed leap, Rendon snatched the ball out of the air with his bare hand. In one motion, Rendon then fired toward the bag hoping that pitcher Felipe Rivero would be there. Rivero was, but the throw was offline, forcing him to slow down, lunge and keep his foot on the bag all at once.
Amazingly, Rivero was able to do just that. Eqaually amazing, they fit all of that craziness in before Crawford got to the bag. He was actually out by two steps.
Trust us, you’ll have to watch it several times before all of that sinks in.
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Honestly, this was a classic example of why players are taught and told repeatedly to never give up on a play. Things that shouldn’t happen happen. Things that don’t make sense, they also happen. Rendon was where he needed to be and was ready to take action if needed. Most impressively, Rivero stayed with the play all the way through and was there to complete it.
Again, it’s what players are taught, but sometimes a deflection will cause everyone to freeze or give up. That didn’t happen here, and the Nationals turned it into a crazy out.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
