NEW YORK — Jose Butto joked that he owed Tyrone Taylor lunch after the Mets outfielder made one of the team’s best catches of the season.
With the Mets leading 11-1 in the top of the seventh, Ryan Jeffers led off the inning with a deep fly ball to right-center field. Taylor, who was replacing newcomer Jesse Winker on defense, scrambled to the back and leapt to bring in a potential home run.
“I think first and foremost you have to anticipate the ball that’s being thrown at you,” Taylor said of what’s coming into play, “and then just have a good initial read and hope the ball stays in the ballpark.”
After the catch, Butto saluted his right fielder.
Jeffers’ long shot, recorded at 101.2 mph at 31 degrees, would have been a home run in five of Major League Baseball’s 30 parks, according to Statcast. There was a 54 percent chance it would have been a home run, but Taylor made sure that didn’t happen.
It was the first batter Butto faced in the game. He finished with a three-inning save, allowing a home run to Jeffers in the ninth inning, and finished with one earned run allowed on four hits and one walk while striking out two.
After stealing a home run in the seventh, Taylor wasn’t done, tracking a deep line drive into the gap between right and center field off the bat of Brooks Lee in the top of the ninth inning.
“Pretty good, pretty impressive. He’s a baseball player,” Carlos Mendoza said. “No matter where you put him, whether it’s center or right, he stole that home run and then he went into space and made another play that made it look very easy. I thought it was going to be a double from the get-go and he made it easy.”
This article was originally published on NorthJersey.com: Tyrone Taylor hits home run in Mets’ game against Twins
