There aren’t many plays more dramatic than a home run robbery in the ninth inning of playoff game—except in the case of Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker.
In the ninth inning of Sunday’s ALCS Game 6 against the Rangers, Texas outfielder Travis Jankowski hit a long fly ball to right that Tucker tracked to the wall. Tucker timed his leap perfectly and jumped high in the air with his arm fully extended to bring the ball back over the fence.
It was an amazing grab, made even more impressive by the fact that he had to jostle with the fans in the front row to make it. One guy even stuck his hand into Tucker’s glove, but the outfielder was able to win the tug of war and make the out.
Filthy catch by Kyle Tucker! 😱 pic.twitter.com/qo6rRfTJDQ
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 23, 2023
It was the kind of play that usually makes a home crowd blow the roof off the building, but not in Tucker’s case. That’s because the batter immediately before Jankowski, Adolis García, had hit a grand slam that made it 9–2 in favor of the Rangers. Tucker got a nice cheer from the crowd for the impressive effort, but it was certainly muted. (You can hear the reaction better in this video.) Tucker wasn’t in any mood to celebrate, either. After he landed, he was completely expressionless as he threw the ball back to the infield. Who can blame him?
Fans had reactions:
Kyle Tucker just made the catch of his life and absolutely no one batted an eye lmfao pic.twitter.com/DTHOu7eelQ
— Addison (@YankeeWRLD) October 23, 2023
This was unbelievable, yet meaningless. https://t.co/EXTv22ZnCV
— Andrew Dodderidge (@yooooooooRIPPSH) October 23, 2023
Weirdest vibe ever, understandably, but damn what a grab https://t.co/M5wDLS1MfX
— Em (@KeselRun) October 23, 2023
Chris Paul, huge three, etc https://t.co/OZDh0NcEfj
— Christian! (@LikeChristianB) October 23, 2023
