Nats thwart Inciarte's bold attempt to steal home in extras

On the list of baseball's most daring plays, the straight steal of home with two outs in the 10th inning ranks awfully high. It's a rare, do-or-die play at any moment in a game, let alone in extra innings with no margin for error.

Ender Inciarte isn't afraid to take chances, though, and he took the ultimate one during Wednesday's game at Nationals Park. Leading off from third base with two outs in the top of the 10th and a 3-1 count on Kurt Suzuki, the Braves center fielder bolted for the plate while Nationals closer Sean Doolittle was coming set on the mound, hoping to catch him napping.

Doolittle said no runner had ever attempted to steal home off him before, but he wasn't totally caught off-guard by Inciarte's mad dash.

"I was thinking that he might try it, because we've seen other guys already try this year around the league," the left-hander said. "I know I'm kind of exposed the way I'm super deliberate. I'm slow, with the way I come set and everything. But (Anthony Rendon) and (Pedro Severino) were all over it, and they gave me enough to give me a chance to get him out."

Indeed, Rendon at third base and Severino behind the plate both realized what was happened and yelled out to Doolittle, who calmly stepped off the rubber and then threw the ball to Severino, who had jumped out in front of the plate to receive it and then apply the tag to Inciarte as he slid headfirst into the plate.

How would Doolittle describe his throw? Was it like a pitch? A modified pitch? Something else?

"I don't know," he said, replaying the moment in his head. "No, it's not a pitch. It's like ... it's weird, because you just try to throw it in a spot where he can handle it, because he's trying to come out in front of the plate to get in the right position to make the tag. And I didn't want to airmail (the throw). I felt like because by the time I stepped off and picked up Sevy, I couldn't see him yet in my peripheral vision. So I knew if I made a decent throw, I had a really decent chance to get him. I threw it high. I still rushed the throw a little bit, but Sevy did a nice job getting the tag down."

Plate umpire Chad Whitson called Inciarte out, but the speedy Atlanta runner immediately signaled to his dugout asking for a replay review. Thus began a tense wait of more than two minutes while officials in New York tried to determine whether Inciarte's left hand touched the plate before Severino applied his tag.

In the end, there wasn't conclusive enough evidence to overturn it, so Whitson's initial call stood. The Nationals breathed a sigh of relief, while the Braves (who still went on to win 5-3 in 12 innings) continued to insist Inciarte should've been ruled safe after a bold move he attempted on his own.

"He made that decision," Atlanta manager Brian Snitker told reporters. "I just looked at (the replay), and I thought he was safe. Good (attempt) by Ender right there; he was just trying to make a play."

Severino didn't share the opposing manager's take on Inciarte's attempt.

"I don't know why he do that," the 24-year-old Dominican catcher said. "He gave a favor to us. I just say thank you to him, because we almost had bases loaded and we're facing the guy on-deck. And Doolittle's the best closer we got in baseball. That happens when you don't got an idea what's going on in the game."