Crawford comes up big with superb snag

October 12th, 2021

On a blustery night filled with stellar defense, Giants shortstop stole the show with an incredible leaping catch to rob Mookie Betts with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning Monday at Dodger Stadium.

With runners on first and second, the play loomed large and keyed the Giants' 1-0 win in Game 3 of the NL Division Series. San Francisco has a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five matchup with a chance to secure a spot in the NLCS with a win Tuesday.

"It was hit hard so there wasn't a whole lot to it," Crawford, a three-time Gold Glove winner, said. "I saw it over my head and jumped as high as I could. Fortunately, I came down with it.

"Really the difficulty of the play -- I've probably had tougher ones -- because that one I just throw my glove up there and hope that I come down with it. It's definitely up there just for the situation alone."

The amazing grab didn't surprise Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who has seen plenty of Crawford over the years in the epic Los Angeles-San Francisco rivalry.

"Brandon was in the right spot and made an athletic play that we have seen time and time again," Roberts said. "So I think that the reaction was frustration."