Los Angeles Angels outfielder Jose Siri put up two stunning highlight-reel plays this week.
In one of the most unusual back-to-back performances imaginable, Siri robbed a grand slam one day and then hit a grand slam of his own the very next game.
The sequence began against Siri’s former team, the Tampa Bay Rays.
With the bases loaded and two outs in the third inning, Rays infielder Taylor Walls sent a drive toward the left-field corner that appeared destined to clear the fence.
Instead, Siri tracked it down and made a spectacular leaping catch, stealing a grand slam and preventing four runs from crossing the plate.
Less than 24 hours later, Siri found himself in a nearly identical situation, except this time he was standing in the batter’s box.
Facing the Colorado Rockies at Angel Stadium, the Angels loaded the bases with two outs in the third inning. Siri jumped on a Kyle Freeland pitch and crushed it down the left-field line for a go-ahead grand slam, flipping his bat as the ball sailed into the seats.
The blast was Siri’s second career grand slam and highlighted another strong performance since being called up from Triple-A Salt Lake on May 16.
Since joining the major league roster, Siri has provided a spark for an Angels club searching for any semblance of consistency, batting .304 with power and energy at the top of the lineup.
Unfortunately for Siri, neither game ended in a victory. The Angels fell 5-2 to Tampa Bay despite his robbery and later dropped a heartbreaking 9-8 contest to Colorado despite his grand slam.
Still, it’s difficult to remember another player producing a sequence quite like this.
In a span of two days, Siri went from taking away four runs with his glove to creating four runs with his bat; an extraordinary reminder of just how quickly baseball can swing on one play.
