Taijuan Walker makes a slick behind
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Taijuan Walker returned to the mound for the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday and made a sensational behind-the-back catch of Padres rookie Jackson Merrill’s line drive to start a double play in the second inning.
Merrill hit a shot back to the mound on a curveball and Walker, a right-hander, turned slightly and reached behind his back to make the catch. He then doubled Xander Bogaerts off first. Merrill looked perplexed as he took off his helmet and headed back to the dugout.
“Honestly, I just reacted. I put my glove behind my back and it found my glove, I guess,” Walker said after getting the decision in Philadelphia’s 8-6 victory that completed their first road sweep of the season. “I didn’t have time to turn and get it so I just kind of stuck my glove there and I was just as surprised as everyone else that it was in there. It was a good play. It was a double play. Double plays are always good.”