Defense can make all the difference in one-run games, and Athletics rookie Cristian Pache put on a show in the outfield Tuesday night.
It wasn’t a stellar outing for the A’s at the plate by any means. They were outhit by the Baltimore Orioles 8-7, but still managed to walk away with a 2-1 win at Oakland Coliseum -- thanks in part to some show-stopping steals by Pache in both outfield gaps and timely hits by his fellow outfielder Seth Brown, who finished the night with a pair of RBI.
Oakland fans have quickly become familiar with the Pache’s fielding skills since he came to the A’s from the Atlanta Braves as part of the Matt Olson trade. Less than a month into the season, the 23-year-old center fielder has already made quite a few jaw-dropping plays.
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On Tuesday, he added to his highlight reel and helped the A’s not only improve to 7-5 on the season, but tie the Los Angeles Angels for first place in the AL West.
“Sometimes you feel like you can just sit down,” Brown said of sharing an outfield with Pache during NBC Sports California’s A’s Postgame Live. “... It’s like he’s teleporting to the ball. He’s a great dude and he works hard. He gets incredible jumps on the ball. Just having him in center and knowing that he’s going to track down anything in the gaps is a comfort. … It’s fun to play next to him and it’s fun to watch him.”
The fun started in the second inning for Pache, when the A’s were already down 1-0. Oakland starter Cole Irvin was looking to limit any more damage after allowing a batter to reach first base, but gave up a booming fly ball to Baltimore’s Kelvin Gutierrez that looked like it was going to be an extra-base hit.
Up against the outfield wall in right center field, Pache jumped up to make the catch -- but the ball popped out of his glove as he came down with it. Or did it?
With cat-like reflexes, Pache secured the bobble as it fell through the air right back into his glove.
Pache’s teammates were appreciative of the web gem. Irvin raised his glove in celebration, and Billy McKinney let out a fist pump. Irvin ultimately made it through five innings and left the game without factoring in the decision, after striking out four and giving up the Orioles’ lone run on six hits.
Luckily for the A’s, Pache was in the entire game. He made another show-stopping play in the eighth inning, with Oakland working to protect a one-run lead. Pache made a second catch at the wall, this time in left-center field, after Austin Hays thought he got ahold of one.
Pache was shifted over in right-center field on the play, and sprinted 118 feet at 28.3 feet per second to make the grab.
In a game where every hit counted, Pache was a difference maker and took away what could have been two very different swings of the bat.
A’s manager Mark Kotsay lauded the rookie after the game for his big plays.
Oakland Athletics
“I think the catch in right center field when he got the glove on it, went up in the air and then ended up coming down with it [was my favorite catch],” Kotsay told reporters. “What great concentration, shows his athleticism once again. And there, going from right-center to all the way back into left-center catching that ball late in the game, another dynamic play.
“Again, he does something every night. It’s fun to watch and he is defensively changing games right now.”
Despite going 0-for-4 at the plate on Tuesday, it’s clear that Pache can make an impact in a multitude of ways. He has earned a spot in A’s fans’ hearts during his short time on the team, thanks in part to his heartfelt tweets.
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Those who were in attendance at The Coliseum on Tuesday certainly got a show thanks to Pache’s defensive prowess. But it’s never just about him.
“... I actually like to do it because it not only excites me, it also excites the players around me,” Pache told reporters through an interpreter after the game, who had asked about his big post-catch flex. “I love to do that.”