St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Dexter Fowler made a phenomenal catch to rob Washington Nationals second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera of a home run on Wednesday afternoon.
With the Cardinals leading the Nats 5-1 in the eighth inning, Cabrera strolled to the plate against St. Louis left-hander Andrew Miller with a pair of men on base. Cabrera clubbed a slider out to right field, but Fowler ran back to make a leaping catch at the wall:
Dexter is a home run killer. đ± #SeptemberBaseball pic.twitter.com/uOjtimlMP1
â MLB (@MLB) September 18, 2019
Fowler's catch preserved the four-run lead, and the Cardinals would eventually win the game as they took two of three games from the Nationals.
The Cardinals suddenly find themselves in a dogfight in the National League Central. After losing two of three against the Milwaukee Brewers over the weekend and watching the Chicago Cubs sweep the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Cardinals entered this week just two games ahead of their bitter rival.
However, St. Louis defeated both Stephen Strasburg and Max Scherzer during this series against Washington, and they will maintain at least a two-game lead over both the Cubs and Brewers heading into a four-game set in Chicago.
Fowler hit well below the Mendoza line and posted a .576 OPS last season, but he has rediscovered the form that made him a dependable leadoff hitter during his first season with the Redbirds in 2017. Fowler was slashing .248/.353/.421 with 17 homers entering Wednesday's game, and he has been a steady presence in the lineup amidst struggles from the likes of Harrison Bader and Matt Carpenter.
An extremely underrated facet of the Cardinals' success this season has been their defense. After leading the majors in errors in 2018, St. Louis ranks first in fielding percentage and third in Defensive Runs Saved, according to FanGraphs.
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