Tip your cap -- or glove -- to Merrill, Bogaerts for preserving no-no
AJ Cassavell
@AJCassavellWASHINGTON -- Every no-hitter has that signature defensive play -- the moment a no-hit bid stays alive and baseball history is preserved.
But there haven¡¯t been many like Jackson Merrill's catch on Thursday afternoon during Dylan Cease¡¯s no-hitter at Nationals Park -- a catch with an assist from second baseman Xander Bogaerts.
Cease was utterly dominant in authoring the second no-hitter in Padres history, a 3-0 victory in the series finale. But -- like every pitcher who¡¯s ever thrown one -- Cease got some help from his defense.
In the bottom of the fifth, Cease was cruising when Nationals cleanup hitter Juan Yepez lifted a pop fly beyond second base. Bogaerts ranged back into center field, and waved off Merrill. Bogaerts appeared to make the play initially -- and then the ball popped out of his glove and back into the air. Merrill was there.
¡°Just playing keepy-ups, making sure it doesn¡¯t hit the ground,¡± Merrill said afterward with a laugh. ¡°That¡¯s all I had to do.¡±
Perhaps the best historical comparison is DeWayne Wise¡¯s juggling catch to preserve Mark Buerhle¡¯s perfect game for the White Sox in 2009. That, of course, was a perfect game to Cease¡¯s no-hitter. But this catch featured twice as many defenders.
Bogaerts -- who found himself at the center of the action on Thursday -- said he initially felt in control of the play. But at the last moment, he heard footsteps and thought Merrill might¡¯ve been arriving to make the play.
Bogaerts is not exactly sure if that¡¯s what caused the ball to come loose. But he's certainly happy Merrill was there to catch it. Given the degree of difficulty, the play would¡¯ve almost certainly been ruled a hit.
¡°Relief,¡± Bogaerts said. ¡°Hearing his footsteps toward the end, I kind of waved him off, but I didn¡¯t say, ¡®I got it.¡¯ I heard his footsteps, got a little hesitant. Then it popped up. He was right there.¡±
In the eighth inning, Bogaerts again preserved the no-hitter, making a diving play to his left on a Keibert Ruiz grounder. As he got up to throw, he bobbled the ball, but he recovered in time to make the play at first.
¡°It feels like every no-hitter, there¡¯s a couple plays like that that are just remarkable,¡± Cease said.
The Padres¡¯ defense was excellent all-around in the history-making performance. Ha-Seong Kim made a smooth tag on a Lane Thomas stolen-base attempt in the first. In the fourth, Donovan Solano and Kim combined on a nifty 5-6-3 double play.
But none of those plays came close to topping the combo catch made by Bogaerts and Merrill. Of course, Merrill entered the season as a life-long shortstop, who had never played center field before at any level. It sure hasn¡¯t looked like it.
¡°He¡¯s always in good position,¡± Bogaerts said. ¡°You see it in the hitting, the baserunning, the defense -- you name it, he¡¯s there. Obviously, he¡¯s young, very energetic, a lot of energy. We kind of feed off him a lot of the time. I feel like that¡¯s very routine for him to be in the right spot.¡±
Merrill had a starting position of 313 feet, according to Statcast, then covered 96 feet of ground just to get into position in the event he might be needed. Turned out he was.
¡°Would¡¯ve been a tough play for me,¡± Merrill said. ¡°I¡¯m glad he went for it. It made it a little easier, honestly. But definitely a little more stressful.¡±