Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia was just doing his job against the Texas Rangers on Monday night, but he ended up flashing the leather with a clutch play in the process.
The Rangers tied the score in the bottom of the ninth inning with Mike Napoli’s leadoff home run, and Carlos Gomez came to the plate looking to try to do some more damage. Gomez hit a soft grounder to Red Sox third baseman Deven Marrero on what looked to be an easy out, but Marrero’s throw to first baseman Mitch Moreland was errant.
The speedy Gomez began to turn the corner to stretch the grounder into extra bases, however, Pedroia was able to make a heads-up move backing up the play. The 33-year-old fielded a bounce off the wall on the first base line with one hand and flipped the ball up to Moreland for the tag out.
And that, friends, is why they teach you to back up the play in Little League.
Boston went on to win 7-5 in the 11th inning, extending its win streak to five games.
Thumbnail photo via Kevin Sousa/USA TODAY Sports Images
