BOSTON -- Is it more astounding that Jackie Bradley Jr. makes spectacular catches on a routine basis or that he continues to avoid bodily harm each time he goes sprawling in front of the wall?
Bradley continued his season-long act in Friday night's 7-3 win over the Rays at Fenway when he raced to the wall in left-center, timed his leap perfectly and snagged what would have been an extra-base hit by Tommy Pham.
As Bradley finished the play, he went tumbling in front of the 379-foot marker on the wall, just where the Green Monster intersects with the lower wall in center. The crowd roared with approval as Bradley came up with his latest gem.
"Tommy crushed it towards the left-center-field gap. Had to get on my high horse to get to it," said Bradley. "I think the most difficult part was figuring out which leg I was going to go off of, because I was running at full speed."
Even at full speed, Bradley can slow down his mind enough to figure out how to make the play and keep his body intact at the same time. How does he do it?
"Training," Bradley said. "Actually, if you go back and look at it, after I made the catch, there was a slight second where I looked to see where I was and I knew that my best opportunity to get out of there unscathed was to get down to the ground so I peeked back, and I just tried to barrel roll, because if I tried to catch myself, I probably would have run into the wall full speed."
According to Statcast™, Pham had a hit probability of 74 percent on the 108.1-mph drive, which had a 16-degree launch angle and traveled a projected 371 feet.
"That ball was hit so hard," said Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts. "Off the bat I was like, 'No, that's going to hit the wall,' and he jumps up and catches it."
By now, the Red Sox should just expect that if a fly ball to center stays in the ballpark, Bradley will come up with it somehow.
"Jackie saves me a lot," said Red Sox lefty Christopher Johnson. "I feel he and Mookie [Betts] really help me out. I think Jackie's an incredible outfielder."
This could finally be the year Bradley wins his first Gold Glove Award. He certainly has a highlight reel long enough to support his cause.
Bradley also contributed at the plate with two hits, including an RBI double.