Pedro Strop quickly removed his crooked hat in the Orioles bullpen and made a nice catch on Manny Machado‘s go-ahead two-run home run in the fifth inning on Sunday against the Angels. The 20 year old had to show up 21 year old Mike Trout, who g ave Los Angeles (or Anaheim, I guess) a 4-3 lead the inning prior.
GIF of Strop’s catch after the bump.
Strop earned the hold later in the game in a hitless effort in the seventh. He walked Mark Trumbo, then moved him to second on a balk, but escaped the inning unscathed after Alberto Callaspo grounded into a fielder’s choice and Howie Kendrick grounded out to third.
Last season, Luis Ayala caught a Chris Davis homer in his hat during the O’s seven homer game against the Blue Jays on September 26. The hat-catch is always my go to move when a ball is headed my way in the stands. I haven’t had as much success as Strop or Ayala.
