SAN DIEGO -- With two outs and the bases loaded in the sixth inning of Sunday's 3-2 loss to the Reds, Padres slugger Wil Myers alertly noticed Reds starter Homer Bailey sauntering behind the mound with his back to the plate.
That's when Myers' instincts kicked in.
The Padres first baseman broke for the dish before Bailey had the time to process that something was amiss. Myers crossed the plate without a throw, giving the Padres their second steal of home this season, cutting the Reds lead to 3-2.
"I said, 'If he lobs it back or turns his back right here I'm going to try to take it,'" Myers said. "Just lucky enough that it was just the right timing."
Myers joins the recently traded Melvin Upton Jr. as the two Padres to steal the dish this season. (Upton did so against Colorado on June 3.) They're two of only three players in the Majors to record a straight steal of home, joining Jacoby Ellsbury.
Myers said he had begun to formulate the idea when he was on second base.
"Jabari [Blash] was up when I was on second," Myers said. "I saw that [Bailey] would turn his back on a lot of close calls, and I knew that if he walked him that he might turn his back again."
Myers reached third when Alexi Amarista was nailed at the plate trying to advance on a pitch in the dirt. Then, as soon as Bailey walked Blash, Myers took off for the plate.
"I don't know if was much of a lapse on my part as much as it was heads-up base running on his part," Bailey said. "I knew that was my last hitter and I felt like it was a pretty good pitch, even though it was probably just off. ... I turned my back for a second and I think he caught everybody off-guard."
Before this season, no Padre had notched a straight steal of home since Everth Cabrera did so against the Dodgers in 2012. It marked the first steal of home by a Reds opponent since Luis Cruz did so in 2012 against Johnny Cueto and Ryan Hanigan.
For Myers, it marked his 19th steal -- one shy of the personal goal he set before the season began. He says it's also the first time in his life that he's stolen home -- though he tried once in high school and was called out at the plate.
"Wil just read the situation, read where Homer was at that point in time," said Padres manager Andy Green. "He was frustrated after walking Jabari, probably feeling like he might have just punched him out, lost focus for a second. We took advantage."