Ender Inciarte, deke master, added another to his legacy against Aledmys Diaz and the Cardinals
This browser does not support the video element.
Great defense is great defense -- even if you don't have the ball. Braves center fielder Ender Inciarte has proven himself capable of some excellent glovework, such as when he ends games with home run-robbing catches. But the Gold Glove outfielder is also quite skilled at the tough art of the deke.
Just last season alone, Inciarte pulled off some next-level dekes that caught baserunners off-guard, including one of the "where's the ball?" variety that wound up as a slick 8-3 double play.
In the second inning of Friday's 10-0 loss to the Cardinals, Inciarte did it again, with Aledmys Díaz thrown off when Tommy Pham lined a ball over Inciarte's head. The problem? Inciarte's fakery tricked Diaz and he could only advance to third as a result. He looked frustrated by the whole thing:
Had Diaz not been thrown off, it's possible he could have scored from first on Pham's double. That proved costly as Diaz was thrown out at the plate on the very next play.
The whole scene really paid tribute to one of Inciarte's standout dekes from last season, with essentially the same context and result:
That's consistency.