In October, Cuban Randy Arozarena demonstrated what he is capable of on the plate. But on Monday, he also exposed his skills with the glove.
“It was a tough hit since he came out, but he knew that if he ran hard he could get there,” Arozarena said after the game.
The play alone is impressive enough, without the need to add any context. But the fact for Arozarena takes on more importance when one considers that the Cuban was ready to defend the left prairie and even contested the first two innings in front of the Green Monster. The Rays gardens changed once center fielder Kevin Kiermaier left the game with a quadriceps injury.
In the end, the trapped left several with their mouths open.
“I thought it would pass over his head,” Tampa Bay pitcher Michael Wacha said. “I thought I was still on the left, but when I looked it was in the right yard making a great play for us.”
Arozarena hasn’t been at the same level of the postseason yet – he has 11-4 with a ball base in three games – but Monday served as a reminder that you don’t have to take your eyes off him.
“He came out of nowhere and appeared at the foot of the canyon,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “He proved to have great reach in the gardens.”