The Queen City squad commenced the week occupying the National League’s last wild card slot, sharing the same position with the Big Apple team in the standings, but holding the advantage due to the tiebreaker rules. They suffered defeats in the initial pair of matches of the series when facing the cellar-dwelling Pittsburgh team, thus trailing by a single game. On the afternoon of Thursday, they secured a 2-1 advantage heading into the ninth inning at the Great American Ball Park.
Subsequently, Cincinnati’s relief pitcher, Emilio Pagán, conceded what appeared to be a game-leveling home run to Bryan Reynolds of the Pirates, occurring with one out remaining in the ninth. Here enters Noelvi Marte:
It’s necessary to formally document a theft. A particularly remarkable aspect of this occurrence involves the fact that, frequently, conversations about stealing home runs involve a level of overstatement, with the subject being balls that nearly reach the pinnacle of the barrier. This instance was definitively beyond the boundary, as evidenced by the slow-motion recordings. Marte was required to fully extend himself over the boundary and reel it back.
This constituted the second out during the ninth inning. Marte was, in reality, compelled to extend a considerable distance towards the foul line to secure a catch of a liner off the bat of Andrew McCutchen, resulting in the final out. It is also noteworthy that Marte is not a natural right fielder. He has never participated in outfield play within the minor leagues, nor has he engaged in such activity in the majors during the years 2023 or 2024. This marked his 51st game stationed in right field throughout 2025.
“In this distinct instance, preventing a home run is decidedly the most optimal outcome,” Marte articulated, with the aid of an interpreter, post-game (reported by MLB.com). “I surmise that we had a necessity for it. This particular sentiment is unprecedented for me.”
The Queen City team emerged victorious with a score of 2-1, and subsequently on the same Thursday, the Big Apple team triumphed over the Windy City team, with a score of 8-5. Cincinnati lingers behind the Big Apple squad by one game concerning the third wild card position, although the Queen City team possesses the tiebreaker advantage, thereby granting the New York team the most minimal of leads. Merely the weekend remains, everyone.
