A’s center fielder Denzel Clarke said, “Not today,” to Drake Baldwin’s bid for a third hit and a fifth RBI during Wednesday's series finale against the Braves.
Baldwin, who was 2-for-2 with four RBIs and a walk over his first three plate appearances, almost added a home run to his body of work in the bottom of the seventh, but Clarke covered 82 feet in five seconds and made a leaping catch in front of the center-field wall to take away what would have been Baldwin’s fourth long ball of the season.
“That’s Denzel being Denzel,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “He goes and gets it and has a knack [for making] those plays over the fence, and it was a nice catch.”
Baldwin’s lineout traveled a Statcast-projected 401 feet with a 102.8 mph exit velocity and a launch angle of 23 degrees.