MLBBy Matt Clapp on

Is it too early to have a baseball catch of the year contender? I don’t think so, especially since this one involves two MLB stars in a WBC elimination game. And it’s even better in that it involves two stars that happen to play on the same major league team, the Baltimore Orioles.

Team USA led 4-2 in the bottom of the seventh, when the Dominican Republic’s Manny Machado cranked a flyball to very deep right-center. Machado certainly thought it was a dinger, and so did probably everyone else watching the game.

But Adam Jones had other ideas, and while on the run, UNBELIEVABLY robbed Machado of a homer. This is absolutely ridiculous, and even earned a tip of the cap from Machado:

It doesn’t get any better than that, and could end up being a tournament-saving play for the USA. Robinson Cano would hit a solo shot for the Dominican Republic later in the inning, to trim the USA’s lead to one, but (literally as I’m typing this sentence) Andrew McCutchen just hit a two-run double to get the USA lead back up to 6-3 in the eighth.

This game has been a blast, and also included a two-run Giancarlo Stanton ROCKET homer.

Update: Team USA won the game 6-3, moves on to face Japan on Tuesday night in Los Angeles for the WBC semifinals. The Dominican Republic was eliminated with the loss.

[MLB Network]

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About Matt Clapp

Matt is an editor at The Comeback. He attended Colorado State University, wishes he was Saved by the Bell's Zack Morris, and idolizes Larry David. And loves pizza and dogs because obviously.

He can be followed on Twitter at @Matt2Clapp (also @TheBlogfines for Cubs/MLB tweets and @DaBearNecess for Bears/NFL tweets), and can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.

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