PHILADELPHIA -- Tigers left fielder Riley Greene had no regard for his own safety when he laid out to make an incredible -- and incredibly risky -- diving catch near the warning track during the second inning of a 2-0 loss to the Phillies on Sunday night at Citizens Bank Park.
Bryson Stott roped a sinker from Charlie Morton 333 feet out to left-center field that looked destined for the gap. Both Greene and center fielder Matt Vierling converged on the ball, and it was unclear until the very last moment which one, if either, would be able to make a play on it.
But Greene got there first, starting his dive just at the edge of the warning track and at nearly the same time as Vierling slid just slightly past him. Despite making contact with Vierling, Greene was able to maintain concentration to make the catch for a wild third out of the inning.
“Just trying to make plays for the boys,” Greene said. “Charlie’s out there pitching his butt off for us. Just trying to help him out. Put my body on the line. Vierling was doing the same. I got there before he could.”
Vierling looked at Greene right after and seemed to let out a sigh of relief that both of them had come away unscathed.
“It is fun,” Greene said. “He goes, ‘Did you catch it?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, I caught it.’”
Vierling’s knee hit Greene’s head, he said, and Greene made contact with Vierling but was unsure exactly where. Both were OK, Greene said.
Greene’s grab saved at least one run, as Brandon Marsh would have easily scored from third base. That would have given Philadelphia a 2-0 lead, with Stott likely getting a double or, possibly, a triple.
“Amazing,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said of the catch. “Dangerous play. He comes up with it in a big spot that could have broken the game open for them. He’s tremendous out there. He’s going to give everything he has. It was good to see.”
Greene had another diving catch in the seventh inning to rob Edmundo Sosa. His exceptional defense Sunday followed some flashy defense a day earlier. In the Tigers’ 7-5 win over the Phillies on Saturday, Greene ended a Philadelphia threat in the sixth inning with a diving snare of Kyle Schwarber’s foul popup, just in front of the covered tarp.
“We’ve seen Riley do this a lot,” Hinch said of Saturday’s catch. “He’s a good defender. He’s going to complete the play and finish the play.”