SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 12: Manuel Margot #13 of the Tampa Bay Rays (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
Manuel Margot made the best defensive play of the playoffs
The Tampa Bay Rays need another unified team effort to take down the Houston Astros in the ALCS, and outfielder Manuel Margot is doing his part on both the offensive end defensive end of things to help Kevin Cash secure yet another hard-fought win.
Margot tracked down a hooking fly ball off the bat of George Springer, and he ended up making an A+ defensive play by tumbling over the railing onto the Petco Park concrete. While the NLCS and World Series have yet to be played, it will be hard to top that in terms of sheer spectacle on the defensive end of affairs.
Manuel Margot is emerging as a clutch performer for the Rays
Margot is no stranger to San Diego, as the former Boston Red Sox was the big prize in a deal that sent Craig Kimbrel to Boston. While he finished sixth in Rookie of the Year voting in 2017, his offense never panned out the way the Padres thought it would, so they traded him to Tampa Bay in exchange for a quality reliever in Emilio Pagan.
Margot, who hit .269 with just one home run in the regular season, was also making noise with his bat, as he launched a three-run home run to give Tampa a quick lead, because of course the guy with one home run would suddenly emerge as a power threat in the playoffs.
The Rays might not have a ton of star power on this roster, but unheralded contributors like Margot and Randy Arozarena making their presence felt could be enough to get Tampa to the World Series and take down a deep Astros team.
