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Avisail Garcia robs Chris Davis of game-tying HR with incredible catch

Holy cow! Chicago White Sox right fielder Avisail Garcia made perhaps the defensive play of the year on Saturday, robbing Baltimore's Chris Davis of a game-tying home run with a sensational leaping catch in the ninth inning.

After blowing a two-run lead and Jeff Samardzija's chance at a victory in the top of the eighth inning, the White Sox had regained the lead in the bottom half on pinch-hitter J.B. Shuck's RBI double. That set the stage for what momentarily felt like heartbreak again for White Sox fans, as Davis teed off against closer David Robertson.

As the baseball soared off the bat, everybody in the ballpark and watching at home anticipated the baseball landing in or perhaps clearing the Orioles bullpen in right field. Even those not watching would have anticipated the same thing based on the sound of the bat, the initial silence of Hawk Harrelson, and then his disgruntled tone as he finally described the action.

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However, if you focus in on Garcia the whole way, you can see he had the baseball measured, and was just hoping to have enough space to make the play. He did, and with a perfectly timed leap snatched the ball out of the air to record a thrilling second out. One batter later, Robertson recorded the final out, striking out Matt Wieters to lock up the 3-2 victory.

As Harrelson and broadcast partner Steve Stone later noted after calming down from the shear joy of Garcia's perhaps game-saving catch, it's a play an outfielder 6-foot-2 or under would have struggled to make. Even if the outfielder's name is Mike Trout, it would have required a Superman like effort to gain that much air while timing it all so perfectly.

(MLB.TV)
(MLB.TV)

Fortunately for the White Sox, Garcia is 6-foot-4. But it still wasn't easy for him physically. He just made it look easy.

By the way, if you thought Garcia got some height on the first jump, check out his celebration.

(MLB.TV)
(MLB.TV)

You go, Avisail!

It's not often you see a player celebrate his own defensive play like that, but in this case it was certainly warranted.

Of course, one person who was even happier and certainly very much appreciative of Garcia's effort was Robertson. After the game, he decided it was appropriate to give Garcia the game ball.

Garcia was also a contributor at the plate, driving in Chicago's first run with a single in the first inning. But it's his defense that commands the headlines on this Fourth of July, as his leaping catch prevented some unwanted fireworks in Chicago. More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!