Homer Bailey turned his back to the plate so an ultra-aware Wil Myers stole home
To be effective, a baserunner has to be aware. Just a few days ago this point was driven home by
In the bottom of the sixth,
This would be the final time the Padres scored in the game, which was won by Cincinnati, 3-2, but it was a rather dramatic way to plate a run.
Now back to that alertness: Myers told MLB.com's A.J. Cassavell after the game that this wasn't a spur of the moment decision. It was, rather, something he'd been working up in his mind for some time:
"Jabari was up when I was on second," Myers said. "I saw that [Bailey] would turn his back on a lot of close calls, and I knew that if he walked him that he might turn his back again."
Myers didn't go so far as to say he learned anything from now ex-teammate Melvin Upton Jr., who heroically stole home back in early June ... so it's happened more than once at Petco in less than two months.
As always, never underestimate the power of being alert on the basepaths.