June is proving to be just as bountiful in the spectacular plays department as the previous two months have been. Another week is gone in the Majors, yet there were plenty of game changing moments with both the bat and the glove. Players are pushing for All-Star nominations, and getting yourself on Top of the Heap is a pretty good endorsement. Here are the top five plays that defined the week that was in baseball.
5. The King Gets A Rude Tex Message
Every pitcher has that one batter that no matter what they do, they just can’t get them out. This even happens to a contemporary luminary like Felix Hernandez. He is one of the, if not THE best, pitcher in the sport today. The King has a hell of a time with Yankee first baseman Mark Teixeira though. Teixeira has faced Hernandez 75 times in his career and reached base 29 of those times. None of those instances were sweeter than what happened Monday night. Hernandez was struggling mightily at home on Monday as he was down 3-0 in the fifth inning and had already labored through 72 pitches. The bases were loaded with one out and he’d fallen behind Teixeira 2-0 in the count. He was in damage minimization mode. Teixeira was just the opposite. As John Sterling would eloquently put it, he clubbed a “Tex Message” over the center field wall for a grand slam that all but ended the King’s evening. You’re on the mark, Teixeira!
4. The Rare Walk-Off Pick-Off
If you were a fan of offense, you probably didn’t have the best of times at Thursday afternoon’s Cubs/Nationals game. Jake Arrieta and Gio Gonzalez threw six quality innings apiece. Two early Cubs’ runs looked like they were going to be enough as the game headed to the ninth with Chicago up 2-1. However, it can always be a nail-biter with Cubbies closer Hector Rondon on the bump for the save. In no time, the tying run was on second base with two outs and Silver Slugger Anthony Rendon stepped into the batter’s box. Rondon fell behind in the count and looked worse for wear. Luckily for him, his catcher David Ross wasn’t going to let him blow this game. As Rondon threw ball three towards home, Ross popped out of his crouch and nailed Clint Robinson at first base for a game-ending pick off. The grizzled veteran unleashed a hellacious roar afterwards as he congratulated Rondon, who sheepishly smiled in relief.
3. Chase Utley Turns Back The Clock
It is tough to watch a player of Chase Utley’s caliber have a season like the one he is currently enduring. The former All-Star second baseman has yet to get his batting average off the proverbial interstate and has routinely looked mortal on even the most pedestrian of fastballs. Every now and then though, that sparkle of talent crops up to remind these younger folks of what a dynamic player he can be. One of those plays happened Thursday night against the Cincinnati Reds. In the top of the third inning up 2-1, Aaron Harang delivered a 90 MPH meatball to Reds’ first baseman Joey Votto. Votto lined what should have been at least a single into the gap between where Chase Utley was playing and the second base bag. However, Utley laid out with full extension on the sharp one hopper and made a great stop. He calmly popped up as if he just didn’t defy gravity (and Father Time) and threw out Votto at first to end the inning.
2. Escobar Doesn’t Need No Stinkin’ Glove
As of writing this, the Royals are in line to have seven players voted into the All-Star Game. Granted this may be more due to the now revived enthusiasm for baseball in the City of Fountains than merit, but plays like the one Alcides Escobar made on Thursday aren’t hurting the cause. The Royals offense had been befuddled by Indians right hander Trevor Bauer all game. KC was down 6-2 in the sixth when reliever Franklin Morales came on to face Michael Bourn. There was no margin for error when Bourn went inside out on a ball towards shortstop. Alcides Escobar made the snap decision that a glove was unnecessary in this instance. He barehanded the ball and delivered a one hop throw to Eric Hosmer at first with the flair of a John Stockton bounce pass. The speedy Bourn, who has stolen 40+ bases in a season five times, was flabbergasted. Caps were tipped, laughs were had. The Indians would get the last laugh however winning the game by that 6-2 margin in a rain-shortened affair.
1. The Brandon Phillips Show…With An Encore
When it was coming down to the Top of the Heap this week, the winner was going to be Brandon Phillips. The trouble was deciding which of his spectacular displays of glovework from Friday’s game against the Padres would be the representative. In the end, both were too good to be left out in the cold. In the top of the seventh, Will Venable came up against new reliever Pedro Villarreal. Venable lashed a ground ball towards right field but it would never reach the grass. Phillips picked the ball up on the lip of the infield and channeled Brett Favre with an improvised (and beautifully weighted) shovel pass to the covering pitcher, who just missed a collision with Joey Votto at first. That play was nice, but Phillips still had to come out for his encore. Villarreal was once again the recipient of magnificence when Will Middlebrooks’ batted ball went straight up the middle. Phillips slid to a knee, casually flipped the ball behind his back to Zack Cozart to initiate the 4-6-3 double play. The Padres would go on to win and both victims of Phillips’ glove hit home runs, but Dat Dude BP (that’s his Twitter handle) was Top of the Heap.
