Hayes' crazy throw is Play of the Week

ST. LOUIS -- At the home of one the game’s most lauded defensive third basemen, Ke'Bryan Hayes showed once again why he will be in that conversation for years to come on Sunday. And as a result, Hayes was awarded on Monday with Play of the Week honors by Major League Baseball.

With one out in the second inning of the Pirates’ series finale with the Cardinals on Sunday, Hayes fielded a ball off the bat of Yadier Molina that hooked around third base and into foul ground. The rookie third baseman made an incredible jump throw from foul ground, and the ball fell perfectly on target to first baseman Colin Moran for the out.

"Actually, when I released it, I thought I threw it a little too high,” Hayes said. “It happened to be right on the money. One of the do-or-die plays."

The play preserved a perfect five-up, five-down stretch for Pittsburgh starter Max Kranick, who pitched five perfect innings in his Major League debut to fuel the Pirates’ 7-2 win.

"Oh my gosh. Still speechless about it,” said Ben Gamel, who saw the play unfold from left field. “I think that's probably an early play of the year candidate. Definitely threw his hat in the ring. It’s still kind of mind-blowing. He threw it from the dugout. It was incredible."

The day before, Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado -- an eight-time Gold Glove Award winner and four-time Platinum Glove Award winner -- demonstrated his own exceptional defensive wizardry by tracking a pop fly from Gregory Polanco down the third-base line for an over-the-shoulder catch in left field.

With both these exceptional defenders in the same division, this matchup of highlight vs. highlight is sure to continue.

“There’s not a lot that that kid does that just doesn’t surprise you every day, man,” manager Derek Shelton said. “He’s special over there.”