St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado has won five Platinum Gloves, and he showed just why that is during Tuesday’s game against the Rays in Tampa Bay.
With the Cardinals up 2-1 in the bottom of the 10th inning and two runners on base with no outs, Rays outfielder Brett Phillips laid down a bunt to try to advance the runners. Arenado, playing just inside the infield grass to guard against a potential bunt, sprinted in. He charged in front of pitcher Drew VerHagen, grabbed the ball with his bare hand, and delivered a Derek Jeter-like jump throw to third base to get outfielder Kevin Kiermaier out at third base.
No one was covering second or first base, so Arenado’s only option was to throw to third. That’s why he twisted midair after jumping to make his throw.
Arenado is an elite defensive third baseman, having won nine Gold Gloves in 10 MLB seasons. He finished Tuesday’s game 0-for-4 with one strikeout. Through 54 games, Arenado is hitting .278 with 10 home runs, 39 RBI and 22 walks. At 32-24, the Cardinals are 0.5 games back of the division-leading Milwaukee Brewers.
The Rays ended up winning the game 4-2 on a three-run homer from shortstop Taylor Walls two batters later. Unfortunately, Arenado’s amazing defensive abilities don’t include robbing home runs from third base.
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