St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Steven Matz pulled off a dazzling play in the field Sunday afternoon. Matz’s Cardinals went up against the Chicago White Sox in the first-half finale of this MLB season. It’s been a tough season for the Cards (and for the White Sox as well), but Matz delighted fans for sure with this incredible play.
White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson hit a 1-2 pitch from Matz in the bottom of the third inning. The ball zoomed at Matz, who put his glove up in defense. Amazingly, the ball collided with the glove and caused it to pop off his hand!
Matz then watched as the ball ricocheted and went toward Cardinal first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. The 2022 National League MVP fielded the ball and tossed it towards a sprinting Matz, who tried to win the footrace against Anderson up the line. And he did!
Totally normal baseball play results in an out for Steven Matz and the Cardinals. ⚾️pic.twitter.com/nC0VmUarDO
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) July 9, 2023
That’s a high degree of difficulty, especially considering the situation. Matz had to react so quickly there just to put his glove up to avoid being hit with the ball. Both the ball AND the glove went out of range. To still be able to pull that off is quite the feat. While the Cardinals are mired in a rough season, that was at least one bright spot on Sunday for the Redbirds.
