NEW YORK (AP) — Isiah Kiner-Falefa took a big lead off third base and kept waiting for pitcher Brooks Raley or third baseman Eduardo Escobar to notice. They never did.
So he kept going and slid across the plate with one of baseball's most electrifying plays: a steal of home.
“He didn’t acknowledge me. The third baseman didn’t acknowledge me,” Kiner-Falefa said after the Yankees’ 4-3, 10-inning loss to the New York Mets on Wednesday night. “I just couldn’t believe I did that in the big leagues.”
With the score 1-1 in the seventh and two on, Kiner-Falefa hit a grounder to shortstop Francisco Lindor, who threw to second base for a forceout. Jeff McNeil's throw to first was going to be too late to catch Kiner-Falefa, and the ball went off the mitt of rookie Mark Vientos for an error that allowed Josh Donaldson to score.
Kiner-Falefa stole second on a 1-1 pitch to Billy McKinney and took third when Francisco Álvarez’s throw skipped into center for an error. Kiner-Falefa's first thought wasn't to steal again.
“I was kind of just trying to force a balk,” he said. “I just timed it up. Right before he made a move, I kind of already committed. And the timing just worked out perfectly, and my instincts kind of took over."
Kiner-Falefa slid feet first across the plate with the Yankees’ first straight steal of home since Jacoby Ellsbury against Tampa Bay left-hander Matt Moore on April 22, 2016.
“What a cool play to witness,” Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole said.
“I just couldn’t believe I did that in the big leagues," Kiner-Falefa said. “I've always tried in high school. I've tried in the minor leagues. I've never just had the opportunity. Everything kind of just played into it. Everything just aligned perfectly tonight.”
Raley faulted himself for not pitching out of the stretch.
“Didn't have that one in the scouting report,” the left-hander said.
“I saw him jumping around over there and didn’t know to step off or not and then he just kind of took off,” Raley added. “So it kind of became a situation of I didn’t really practice stepping off and throwing home.”
Raley continued with his pitch and it sailed high, going to the backstop.
A veteran of 132 big league games at third base, Kiner-Falefa is used to defending against a straying runner.
“When I play third base, if someone does that I give them a little jab step or something to at least force them back or make me respect it,” he said. “And especially with the new rules, with the two step-offs from the pitcher, I was kind of trying to force him just to do one or maybe a balk.”
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