ST. PETERSBURG — Just before he left his feet for an all-out dive to catch the line drive hit by the Orioles’ Chris Davis during the fourth inning Wednesday, Rays RF Steven Souza Jr. made eye contact with CF Kevin Kiermaier. Kiermaier’s return glance told Souza that if anyone had a chance to catch that ball, it was Souza.
So Souza laid out like he used to when catching passes as a high school receiver.
“Only no one was trying to hit me after the catch,” Souza said.
According to StatCast, Souza covered 88 feet before making the catch with a maximum speed of 19.