Mookie Betts' eighth-inning catch Friday night at Camden Yards won't register as anything more than a putout in the postgame box score, but it deserves closer examination based on the degree of difficulty and the importance of the moment for the Red Sox.
Boston trailed Baltimore, 2-0, in the bottom of the eighth when a hard slide by Manny Machado knocked Dustin Pedroia -- seen by many as an emotional leader for the Red Sox -- out of the game. With a runner aboard for the Orioles, Chris Davis sent a line drive with an exit velocity of 90.8 mph toward the right-field line. According to Statcast™, Betts needed to cover 63 feet within an opportunity time of 3.9 seconds in order to get to the projected landing spot of Davis' liner -- all while the ball appeared to tail away from him.
With a good first step and excellent route, however, Betts was able to make up the gap and stretch out for a full diving grab. Similar balls have carried a catch probability of just 38 percent, per Statcast™, making Betts' grab a 4-Star play on a 1- to 5-Star scale.
Had Betts missed the ball, the Orioles likely would have had a pair of runners on base and a chance for a big inning to extend their lead. Instead, Mark Trumbo had to remain on first base with two outs before Fernando Abad ended the rally by getting Welington Castillo to fly out to center field. Though the Red Sox went down in order in the top of the ninth to seal their 2-0 loss, Boston's comeback chances may have been significantly reduced had it not been for Betts' stellar play.
Of course, such grabs are not unusual for the 2016 Gold Glove Award winner. Betts went 9-for-16 on 4-Star opportunities last season for a 56.3 percent success rate, and he went 38-for-81 overall (46.9 percent) on all plays that were rated 3-Stars or higher -- the toughest and rarest plays for outfielders. Betts has already made headlines with the way he's powered the Red Sox's offense this season, but Boston's budding star reminded the baseball world Friday that there's more than one elite dimension to his game.
Matt Kelly