The art of robbing a home run is one that requires perfect timing, a level of timing Arizona Diamondbacks center fielder Alek Thomas put on display Wednesday.
In the bottom of the first inning with a runner on second base, Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto blasted a 2-2 pitch from D-backs starter Merrill Kelly deep to center.
Votto took a second to look at it and Kelly immediately looked down, which seemed to indicate this was a done deal and two runs were about to be on the board.
Thomas, however, had a great line on the baseball the whole way. He tracked it well toward the wall, where he stutter-stepped a few times to get that aforementioned timing. Then came the jump, which allowed him to reach up for the ball with his glove at the height of his jump to come down with it.
ALEK THOMAS ROBS JOEY VOTTO! pic.twitter.com/aiwWB8Ult4
— Bally Sports Arizona (@BALLYSPORTSAZ) June 9, 2022
Kelly had to take a moment to smile and laugh as he walked off the mound.
The 22-year-old Thomas has shown off his strong defensive chops as a rookie. He did so, in fact, three innings later on another potential hit for Votto.
Alek Thomas has Joey Votto’s number today
pic.twitter.com/y615RBBxlR
— Bally Sports Arizona (@BALLYSPORTSAZ) June 9, 2022
The D-backs beat the Reds 7-0. The game was delayed nearly two hours due to rain, making it the third straight game in the series to have delays because of weather.