Colorado Rockies Defensive Play of the Week: CarGo's deke saves a series

The Chicago Cubs came rolling into Denver as the defending World Series Champs and left … well, they left the exact same way but they lost 2-out-of-3 to the Colorado Rockies who are taking MLB by storm in 2017.

Of course, the young brilliant starting pitching was yet again a major factor but so was one remarkable defensive play from veteran outfield slugger Carlos Gonzalez.

Yes, CarGo’ is paid for his big bat which has been mostly silent this season, but more should be made of his invaluable defensive contributions. During the week, he recorded two of the best catches in all of baseball so far this season, according to Statcast. Both were rated as a five percent probability and both were labeled five star catches.

But, ironically, it was a ball that Gonzalez did not catch that actually went down as his most impressive and impactful play of the week. With runners at first and second and nobody out in a one-run game, Antonio Senzatela threw a “get me over” fastball to his opposite number, Jake Arrieta. Arrieta hit a high shot into right field and it was difficult to tell if the ball would land safely in the right fielder’s glove, bounce off the wall, or even fall into the seats.

Gonzalez posed like he had the ball caught, forcing the runners to pause instead of speeding around the bases which they would have done had they known the ball was actually set to ricochet off the wall and back into play. CarGo played it perfectly on the bounce and used his signature arm to get the ball back in before anyone could score, holding Arrieta to a 340-foot single. Senzatela took advantage of the fact that the double play was still in order, and induced one, allowing only one run to score in a game the Rockies went on to win.

“That was huge,” said manager Bud Black. “Who knows how far out of hand that inning could have gotten if not for that play. Great play from CarGo.”

We will have more on this soon, but Gonzalez has quietly been phenomenal in the field this season. Stay tuned for our exclusive conversation with him on his approach and what some of his coaches and teammates think about his contributions with the leather.