Only this time it wasn't from the mound, but from deep center.
Ankiel threw out two runners at third in the St. Louis Cardinals 6-5 win at Colorado, including one from the warning track.
Ankiel, once a promising pitching prospect for the Cardinals, was showing off his laser of a left arm all evening.
He nailed Willy Taveras, one of the speediest runners in the major leagues, in the first inning as Taveras tried to tag up from second on a fly ball.
But that was merely a warm-up act. In the eighth, Ankiel picked up a ball off the warning track and cut down Omar Quintanilla at third as he tried to stretch a double into a triple.
The Cardinals went crazy with virtually everyone jumping out of the dugout to congratulate him as he made his way in.
Ryan Ludwick, playing left field, was screaming at Ankiel to throw the ball to third, even while he believed Ankiel had no realistic shot at getting the runner.
Even after the game, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa was still in awe of Ankiel's throws.
"I don't believe he did it," La Russa said. "I want to see the replays. I can't remember a dugout getting a bigger kick out of something. Who could believe it?"
Ankiel was more pleased with his throws than his sixth home run of the season, a solo shot in the eighth.
"I was pumped," Ankiel said of his first two outfield assists of the season.
Count Cardinals starting pitcher Braden Looper among the impressed.
"That was outstanding," Looper said. "The second throw was the best one I've seen. It was pretty amazing he could throw it from there, for sure."
Looper (5-1) was two outs away from his first career complete game, and then was pulled after back-to-back singles by Todd Helton and pinch hitter Ryan Spilborghs.
Ryan Franklin picked up his first save of the season, but it didn't come easy. After striking out Brad Hawpe, Franklin gave up a two-run double to Chris Iannetta and a run-scoring double to Clint Barmes before getting Jeff Baker to fly out to Ankiel.
"It was pretty nerve-racking," said Looper, who allowed four runs and 10 hits in 8 1/3 innings. "I had the game in hand and gave up a couple of base hits there in the ninth and almost end up losing it."
Looper also was pretty handy with the bat, going 2-for-3 to raise his average to a team-leading .385.
"He still looks bad up there, but he gets it done," Franklin said. "Impressive."
Ankiel flamed out as a pitcher after he struggled with control problems, officially retiring from the mound in March 2005 to concentrate on becoming an outfielder.
He still gets to throw strikes -- just from farther away.
"You have to tip your hat and say, 'Wow. Wow,'" Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said.
