Atlanta Braves reliever Tyler Matzek produced one of the coolest and most unusual highlights of the young MLB season on Sunday night, when he showed off his defensive chops on a comebacker to the mound.
The veteran left-hander awkwardly reached around his back to field a high-bouncing chopper off the bat of Phillies slugger Odubel Herrera in the seventh inning, somehow corralling the weakly hit ground ball without even looking it into his glove.
Matzek then fired off a rocket to shortstop Dansby Swanson, who reeled in Matzek's slightly high throw and then made a nice relay of his own to first baseman Freddie Freeman to complete a nifty 1-6-3 double play.
"What a play by Matzek!" bellowed ESPN play-by-play announcer Matt Vasgersian. "Oh, man!"
The slick twin killing erased a leadoff baserunner for the Phillies, ending a modest late-game threat. The Braves would go on to tack on an additional run, beating Philly by a final score of 6-1.
Matzek, a former first-round pick of the Colorado Rockies, seems to have found a home in the Braves' bullpen after a long and winding road led him out of organized pro ball and into the independent leagues for several years.
He resurfaced with Atlanta last season after last appearing in the big leagues in 2015 with Colorado. The 30-year-old for No. 11 overall selection posted a 2.79 ERA last season, and had a 3.60 mark through 15 innings in 2021.
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