Impressive acrobatics were on display by the Kansas City outfielder.
In the top of the sixth with no outs, Royals center fielder Kyle Isbel was at the plate with left fielder MJ Melendez on third and right fielder Hunter Renfroe on second. Isbel smacked a grounder to first. Melendez was off and running with the crack of the bat; the grounder was fielded cleanly by Josh Naylor, who rifled the ball to home in an effort to save a run.
It looked like Naylor's throw had Melendez dead to rights in every sense. And Melendez was, in fact, called out initially. But the off-target throw forced Cleveland catcher Bo Naylor to dive to his left, giving Melendez the slightest window of opportunity to dive over him and touch the plate. It was a tremendous display of athleticism combined with quick thinking and resulted in a well-earned run for the Royals.Melendez's extra effort ended up the difference between a win and a loss, as the Royals emerged victorious a few innings later over the Guardians, 4–3. Kansas City now sits at 37–26 for the season, good for second behind Cleveland in the AL Central standings.Liam McKeone is a Senior Writer for the Breaking & Trending News Team at Sports Illustrated.
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