There's still a lot of baseball to be played so let's not talk about the postseason implications that Austin Jackson's spectacular grab in the 10th inning of Detroit's 3-2 win over Toronto on Thursday may or may not end up having. We likely won't know until the season's last week.
Instead, let's just appreciate his robbery of Anthony Gose for what it was: An unbelievable play that saved at least a run and gave the Tigers a chance to win the game in the 11th inning.
Said Jackson after the game:
''It was one of those situations where if that ball drops, he's probably going to score. I knew in that situation I probably had to attempt to dive,'' Jackson said. ''I knew it was going to be close.''
Jackson's highlight reel play came on a day that started off with the news that Doug Fister would miss at least a start and was followed by the sight of Miguel Cabrera leaving the game with an ankle injury. But Jackson — who has been the team's co-MVP with a 4.7 WAR that's fueled by his defensive brilliance — rescued the day with his dive.
We'll see what it means for his team in the long run, but its overall importance — one extra win in a tight postseason race — isn't that hard to see right now. With the win, Detroit moved to within 1 1/2 games of the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central and with a half-game of Oakland for the AL's second wild card spot.
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