Advertisement

Miami Marlins' Christian Yelich steals home run with sensational snare

By Alex Butler

Aug. 23 (UPI) -- Center fielder Christian Yelich made an incredible catch to rob a home run in the Miami Marlins' 7-4 victory Tuesday against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Yelich, 25, had a fantastic night at the plate, but his catch might have been his best play overall. The Marlins beat the Phillies 12-8 in the first game of the doubleheader at Citizens Bank Park. In the fifth inning of the second contest, Phillies center fielder Nick Williams stepped in to battle Marlins righty José Ureña. The lefty swung at the first pitch and belted it toward center.

Advertisement

Yelich tracked the strongly-hit ball and jumped at the wall. He ended up barely hanging onto the ball for the out, saving a home run. Yelich brought the ball down with his palm and the upper half of his glove closed.

Williams hit a home run in the fourth frame of the loss. Yelich was 1-for-5 with four RBI and two runs scored in the victory. He hit a two-run home run in the top of the second inning. In the first game of the doubleheader, Yelich went 2-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored. He had two doubles in that victory.

Advertisement

Marlins All-Star Giancarlo Stanton, who leads baseball with 46 home runs, also made a crazy catch in the first contest. His grab came in the seventh frame. On that play, the right fielder sprinted to his left before diving and robbing Cameron Perkins of a possible double.

"I've been robbed a few times, so I know that feeling on the other end," Yelich told MLB.com. "It [stinks]. Terrible feeling. It's cool to rob one. [It] keeps a run off the board, and it helped us out right there."

"The ball was carrying pretty good today here, so I saw it off the bat and knew I had to get back there and kind of see if you're going to have a chance at it or not. Got back there in time and was able to jump, and it almost popped out."

Miami is now 62-62 on the season, but still sits 13.5 games behind the division-leading Washington Nationals in the National League East.

"You can't really talk about anything, really, if you can't get to [.500]," manager Don Mattingly told reporters after the game, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "We'll see where we go."

Advertisement

Latest Headlines