The San Diego Padres learned the hard way you can’t forget about Elvis Andrus.
The Texas Rangers shortstop pulled off one of the most exciting plays in baseball Tuesday night when he executed a straight steal of home plate.
With the Rangers leading 7-4 in the top of the seventh, Andrus took advantage of Padres pitcher Kevin Quackenbush. The reliever temporarily forgot about Andrus, letting his guard down in between pitches. With two strikes on the batter at the plate and two outs in the inning, Andrus took the chance. He sprinted toward home and was able to slide across the dish before the Padres could nab him.
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Quackenbush clearly wasn’t paying enough attention to Andrus, but you have to wonder if he blocked Andrus out of his sight when he came set. Oh, it probably also doesn’t help that the Padres were shifted and third baseman Yangervis Solarte was playing this far off the base and not holding Andrus on at third:
The Rangers went on to win the game and have now won seven of their last 10 games. Texas now holds a one-game lead over the Minnesota Twins for the American League’s second wild card spot.
