CHICAGO -- Talk about a heads-up play.
With the Tigers already cruising to what would become a 13-1 win over the White Sox, Jack Flaherty got Sox right fielder Joshua Palacios to pop a knuckle curve just below the zone up into foul territory in the bottom of the fifth. As the ball drifted toward the home dugout, Flaherty, Dillon Dingler and Zach McKinstry gave chase.
Flaherty pulled up early, with McKinstry then giving Dingler room to attempt a sliding grab. But as Dingler went to glove it, the ball deflected off his mitt toward the ground in foul territory.
That would’ve given Palacios another chance with a 2-2 count, but luckily for Detroit, McKinstry ended up just a few feet away from Dingler -- and in the perfect position to make the grab at his knees. After what looked to be initial disbelief that McKinstry caught Dingler’s “assist,” all the duo could do was high-five and share a laugh over the absurdity of the catch.
“Wow!,” the always colorful Tigers play-by-play commentator Jason Benetti said. “I mean … they do birthday parties, bar mitzvahs and anniversaries, too. The Dingler and McKinstry juggling team!”
Flaherty, who got a front-row seat to the juggle act, said, "Z-Mac just had some really good reaction time right there. The ball like hit his leg and he caught it. It was great. I'll take the outs any way they come."
"I think I'll get to see it a couple times over again. Those are usually pretty popular," manager A.J. Hinch added. "I mean, those are so funny. I'm not sure McKinstry actually knew he had it until he looked down. Unique play and a big out. In a game full of fun things, that was one of them."
The Tigers have the best record in the Majors and have been firing on all cylinders -- and if this catch is any indication, it seems a lot of things are falling their way, too.