ARLINGTON -- For a guy who had never robbed a home run before in his life, Astros right fielder Cam Smith played it pretty cool when he took a long ball away from Rangers outfielder Brandon Nimmo to end the first inning of Thursday’s 5-1 win.
“Honestly, I didn’t even know how to react,” Smith said. “I hadn’t done that before. It was pretty cool and I’m glad I could do it for [starting pitcher Spencer Arrighetti].”
Smith caught the ball and casually flipped it out of his glove, ending the brief angst of Arrighetti, who stood with his hands on his head waiting for any indication of whether it was a home run or an out.
“I'm gonna be honest, like, I thought that was a flyout,” Arrighetti said. “It didn't sound like he really got it, and it just kept going, kept going, kept going, and then Cam jumped, and I was like, ‘Oh, great, like I just gave up a homer.’ And then he came back down and didn't really do much, but then he flipped the ball out of his glove and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, there's no way!’ He's such an incredible outfielder.”
The catch underscored the terrific defense the Astros played during a 10-game road trip in which they went 7-3, capped by taking three of four games from the Rangers at Globe Life Field. Smith, who made the switch from third base to right field last spring, has quickly become one of the game’s best right fielders and may have made the best catch of his young career.
“We scored three [runs in the first] and we want to keep the momentum on our side,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “That ball leaves the yard and they’re getting a run back, but Cam made that play. We played really good defense this road trip. We’re known for playing good defense and it really showed.”
Smith tracked the fly ball that came off Nimmo’s bat at 94.1 mph and timed his jump perfectly, reaching high above the wall to catch it. The ball, which traveled a Statcast-projected 356 feet, would have been a homer in 18 ballparks -- and Smith made sure Globe Life Field wasn’t one of them.
“That was amazing,” shortstop Jeremy Peña said. “Cam Smith is a great athlete -- second-best athlete on the team. I don’t have to say who’s the first [Peña smiled]. Great catch. He tried to act cool and no emotion like he does it all the time. I was like, ‘Bro, celebrate a little bit!’ Shout out to Cam.”
It was sweet payback for the Astros, who watched Nimmo rob slugger Yordan Alvarez of a home run with a similar catch at Daikin Park on May 17. Alvarez hit five homers in the first three games of the series against the Rangers and is tied for the AL lead with 20 home runs.
As great as Smith's catch was, it still doesn’t rank as the greatest home run robbery by an Astros outfielder in Arlington. That happened on April 12, 2015 across the street at Globe Life Park, where a leaping George Springer pulled back what would have been a walk-off grand slam off the bat of the Rangers' Leonys Martin.
Smith, a Gold Glove finalist last year, has become an elite right fielder. He ranks first among right fielders in fielding run value and outs above average.
“That guy's gonna win five Gold Gloves at minimum in his career,” Arrighetti said.