Villar steals home on Royals' pickoff attempt
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KANSAS CITY -- For an instant, it seemed that Jonathan Villar had been picked off at third. But if you throw behind the speedy Villar, be careful.
Villar wound up stealing home in the seventh inning in the Orioles' 14-2 win on Friday night, when Royals catcher Nick Dini saw Villar coming way down the line and delivered a snap throw to third. Rather than retreating, Villar burst toward the plate and beat the return throw home. It was Villar's third stolen base of the game -- giving him 32 for the season.
"He got caught too far down the line," manager Brandon Hyde said. "They backpicked and he instinctually read it and went home. That wasn't a planned play or anything we had in mind."
The steal of home was Baltimore's first since Chance Sisco accomplished the feat on May 12, 2018, against the Rays.