Most of the talk surrounding the Cincinnati Reds these days is focusing on whether or not the team is going to hold a major sale at the trade deadline, with Johnny Cueto and Jay Bruce on the top shelf. But the Reds obviously still have to play the games at hand. And when they do, guys like Brandon Phillips can still make playing baseball look like a hell of a lot of fun.
Check out this slick piece of defense from Monday’s game versus the Cubs. With two outs in the seventh, Chicago’s Jorge Soler hit a ground ball up the middle that was nabbed by a sliding Phillips behind second base. He then flipped the ball behind his back to shortstop Eugenio Suarez, who got the force out on Anthony Rizzo at the bag.
That was some nifty footwork by Suarez to avoid the hard-charging Rizzo too. The whole play was a work of art. Two guards running the fast break couldn’t have done it any better.
The Reds went on to beat the Cubs, 5-4. Phillips’ play was certainly crucial in protecting that lead. Had that ball gotten by him or if he wasn’t able to flip the ball to Suarez, Dexter Fowler likely scores the tying run and the inning would have been extended for the Cubs to possibly take the lead.
