Best of Statcast: Cespedes' rocket, Schwarber's blast
With both League Championship Series in action on Saturday, there was plenty of fodder for Statcast™.
Between the Royals' win over the Blue Jays in Game 2 at Kauffman Stadium and the Mets' series-opening victory over the Cubs at Citi Field, several plays stood out. Here's a look at some of the best from Saturday.
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Don't run on Yo
The Cubs' Starlin Castro represented the potential go-ahead run on second base with one out in the top of the fifth inning when Javier Baez singled to left field off Matt Harvey. Castro tried to score as Mets left fielder Yoenis Cespedes charged the ball, scooped and fired home. The 94.3-mph strike -- his eighth-fastest this year -- covered 232 feet to home plate on a couple of hops. Catcher Travis d'Arnaud, set up on the third-base side, made a fine scoop and tagged out Castro, who reached 18.9 mph on his 7.6-second journey home. Maybe the Cubs should have known better than to test Cespedes, whose average arm strength ranked fourth this season among all outfielders who had at least 75 throws tracked by Statcast™.
A deep one from d'Arnaud
d'Arnaud stretched his team's lead to 3-1 with an impressive solo homer off Cubs left-hander Jon Lester in the bottom of the sixth. d'Arnaud connected at 107.1 mph and drove the pitch a projected 431 feet away to dead center field, off the Citi Field apple. It was d'Arnaud's second-longest homer of 2015, behind a 439-foot drive he hit against the Rockies on Aug. 21. The exit velocity was his third-best, and ranked first among balls that left the yard.
Video: NLCS Gm1: d'Arnaud hits 431-foot shot to center field
Baez shows off his range
With New York still ahead by a run in the bottom of the sixth, Daniel Murphy led off with a pop fly to shallow left field off Lester. Baez, playing shortstop for the Cubs in place of the injured Addison Russell, gave chase as left fielder Kyle Schwarber also barreled in toward the ball. Baez ranged way out on to the outfield grass, traveling 99 feet, and did his best to wave off Schwarber, who went into a feet-first slide. With a route efficiency of 92.8 percent, Baez was able to get to the spot and make the catch while avoiding a collision for the first out.
Video: NLCS Gm1: Baez covers 99 feet to make a great play
Schwarber blasts off
Down 4-1 with two outs in the eighth, Schwarber drew the Cubs a run closer. On a 1-0 count, Harvey pumped in a 93.2-mph fastball above the strike zone, and Schwarber pounced. His drive sailed way over the right-field wall, earning a Statcast-projected distance of 459 feet away from home, a personal best and the longest by any player this postseason. Schwarber, who has homered four times in the playoffs -- including in three straight games -- has gone deep 20 times overall in 2015, clearing 425 feet on six occasions. His 110.4-mph exit velocity on Saturday's bomb was his third-best on a homer this year.
Video: NLCS Gm1: Schwarber swats 459-foot home run
Escobar handles rocket, turns two
In the top of the second inning at Kauffman Stadium, Toronto catcher Russell Martin smacked what easily could have been a go-ahead RBI hit in a scoreless game. With one out and runners on first and second, Martin blistered a ball toward center field at 110.8 mph, his second-fastest exit velocity of the season. The problem for the Blue Jays was that Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar reacted almost instantly, taking his first step to his left in 0.23 seconds. That put him in position to make a full-extension diving grab, which he followed up with a flip to second base to double off Edwin Encarnacion. Inning over.
Video: ALCS Gm2: Escobar's first step leads to double play
Martin catches Cain
The Royals led, 5-3, in the bottom of the eighth and had Lorenzo Cain on first base with one out and Eric Hosmer batting. With a 0.98-second first step and 13-foot secondary lead, Cain broke for second on an outside pitch from Aaron Loup, which gave Martin a good opportunity. He made the glove-to-throw exchange in 0.95 seconds, then whipped the ball 106 feet to second base at 78.5 mph. Cain, realizing he had no shot to steal the bag, tried to retreat to first, but shortstop Troy Tulowitzki caught Martin's throw and fired to Chris Colabello to get the out.