Mariners outfielder Victor Robles suffered an arm injury making a diving catch over the right-field wall Sunday at Oracle Park.
Mariners outfielder Victor Robles suffered an arm injury making a diving catch over the right-field wall Sunday at Oracle Park.
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Neither a warning track nor a foul-ball net could thwart one of the greatest catches ever at Oracle Park since the Giants’ home opened 25 years ago.
Seattle right fielder Victor Robles went in hot pursuit of Patrick Bailey’s flyball down the right field line and sacrificed his body – especially his left shoulder and wrist – to make a daring catch in Sunday’s ninth inning.
The Giants would win on the next pitch on pinch-hitter Wilmer Flores’ walk-off single, but in their clubhouse after that 5-4 triumph, Robles drew both praise and concern.
“That was incredible. It’s one of the best outfield plays I’ve seen in my life,” Mike Yastrzemski, who’s patrolled the Giants’ outfield since 2019 and started Sunday’s game there.
About 10 feet in front of the foul pole, Robles leaped and stretched his left hand skyward. As the ball landed in his glove, his left knee banged into the waist-high wall and he careened head-first into the foul-ball netting, which was extended all the way down each line in 2021.
An anguished Robles crumped to the ground and flipped the ball back into play; a replay ruling allowed Giants baserunner Luis Matos to advance only to second base rather than third after tagging up on the play.
“I was more so concerned about the runner. I wanted Matos to tag because I’ve seen that ball stay fair so many time and I know how tricky that corner can be,” Yasztremski said. “I was glad the net was there because there’s concrete over there. Who knows what could have happened. Hopefully he is OK. Man, I’ve never seen anything like that.”
Yastrzemski said there’ve been plays in past years where right fielders are “saved” by the netting.
“You definitely have the ability to be more aggressive and go after it, especially when the wall isn’t high,” Yastrzemski added. “It is something you have to look out for, and every time you go to a new ballpark, you walk the field to get as much information as you can.”
Robles, with trainers stabilizing his arm, walked toward the Mariners’ dugout before being carted off the field.
“It was a scary moment,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said. “What a great play. I hope he’s OK.”
“That was unfortunate. You don’t want to see that and I hope he’s OK,” Flores added.
“It’s something with his shoulder, and we’ll find out more here as we go,” said Mariners manager Dan Wilson, according to the Seattle Times.
“Man, what an unbelievable effort and a commitment to that team,” Yastrzemski said. “It says a lot about his character.”
The Giants also made spectacular plays on defense Sunday, though those were turned in by shortstop Willy Adames (fifth-inning, spin-o-rama groundout) and third baseman Matt Chapman (eighth-inning double play).
“It’s fun to watch. I kind of am envious of our left fielders. They’re able to see all these plays and don’t have to move as much,” Yastrzemski said. “It’s really fun to watch. They’re making high-level plays day in and day out, and they’re making it look easy.”
Not so easy: Playing right field at Oracle Park.
See: Robles, Victor.
“He took on a wall we’ve never seen anyone take on in this park’s 25-year history,” Mike Krukow said on NBC Sports Bay Area’s broadcast. “It was one of the most spectacular catches we’ve seen in this ballpark.”