Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford made highlight play after highlight play during the last three games of the Bay Bridge Series. In the aftermath of Sunday's extra innings loss to the Oakland A's, the All-Star was asked about one he didn't.
A's third baseman Matt Chapman chopped a walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th inning to give Oakland possession of "The Bridge." The ball bounced helplessly off of Crawford's foot and into center field, handing the Giants a second straight loss.
Crawford told reporters after the loss that he charged at the ball because he thought Chapman would beat the throw to first if he didn't.
"it was a high enough hop that I thought I could get it on that first big hop," Crawford told reporters from the visiting clubhouse at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. "But it came down a lot steeper than I thought it was going to. I think that's what caused me to miss it."
Crawford entered Sunday 10th among MLB shortstops in fielding percentage (.981), as well as second in putouts per nine innings (1.59) and assists per nine innings (3.07).
The three-time Gold Glove winner made a pair of impressive catches against the A's on Saturday. He covered the vast foul territory at the Coliseum to make a sprinting catch in one instance, and snagging a ball over his shoulder in shallow center field in another.
Sports
A's manager Bob Melvin felt Crawford was in a tough spot on Chapman's chopper on Sunday, and had to react quickly on a "tough play" in order to get Chapman out.
"But man, how many runs did he save for them in this series," Melvin continued. "He's as good as [shortstops] get. And not only is he a perennial [Gold Glove winner], he's a tough at-bat for them... [He's] a great player. That's not an easy play."
