In the bottom of the third with the game tied, Bryce Harper led off with a solid hit to get on base. The defense quickly responded with a clean double play, helping the pitcher out of trouble. Freddie Freeman gave the nod of approval from first, clearly happy with the defensive effort. Then things got a little wild. Scott Kingery stepped up and after working the count to 2-1, he launched a deep shot over the wall. Or so it seemed.
An outfielder pulled the ball back into play with a full-extension grab, armpit nearly hitting the wall. It bounced off his glove, and the ball stayed in play. The runner never stopped, helmet flying off and bouncing off his face, but he kept going like nothing happened. The play nearly became one of the top catches of the season but ended instead with frustration. Kingery thought he had it—he didn’t—and let out his anger at the missed highlight. The next batter went down swinging, and that missed chance came back to bite them. They lost by one.
Despite the close score, there’s not much blame to go around. Off the bat, it was a home run. The fact that it nearly became an out is more a bonus than a failure. If anyone’s mad, it should be the fielder who almost made the grab, not anyone expecting him to. It was a game of inches and a missed shot at one of the year’s best defensive plays.