Joey Votto’s defensive mastery at first base was on show once again for the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday, this time in the form of a rare triple play.
In the bottom of the eighth inning of the Reds matchup against the Cleveland Indians, with runners on the corners, Votto was able to turn a triple play, seemingly with ease. Cleveland’s Josh Naylor lined a bullet right to Votto at first, who caught the missile for the first out. Then, Votto dove back to first to make the tag on Franmil Reyes for the second out.
The third and final out is where it gets interesting. After the second out, Votto correctly identified that Eddie Rosario — who went home to score — didn’t tag up at third, making the easy toss over to the plate to get the final out for the triple play.
🚨 BANG BANG BANG TRIPLE PLAY JOEY VOTTO! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/zzrVfyjtaq
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) April 17, 2021
A bit of a confusing triple play, but a really intelligent, impressive one nonetheless!
Votto’s triple play is the first of the 2021 season, and the most recent since the Milwaukee Brewers turned one on the St. Louis Cardinals in September 2020.
Not only was Votto’s triple play a possible inning saver for the Reds, it was a great heads-up sequence from one of the best in the business.
