Ball Ricochets off Pitcher into a Double Play, a breakdown

May 1, 2021 377.1K views 2:12

MLB Baltimore Orioles 2021

What Happened

In the bottom of the second inning, the game is tied 0-0 between the Kansas City Royals and an unnamed opposing team. Royals pitcher Daniel Lynch is on the mound with the bases loaded and a 2-2 count. Lynch winds up and delivers the pitch, drilling the batter in the arm. The hit-by-pitch results in an RBI walk, pushing across the first run of the game. Up next is Josh Donaldson, who steps into the batter's box for the opposition. On the first pitch, Donaldson hits a sharp grounder back towards the mound. The ball ricochets off of Lynch's foot and pops straight up in the air. Lynch quickly reacts, catching the ball on the bounce. He then throws to first base, doubling off the runner who was on second. The first baseman, Santana, also catches the throw, completing the unusual 1-3 double play. The replay shows that the ball never touched the ground, instead caroming straight off of Lynch's foot and into the air. The runners on first and third base reacted quickly, but the runner on second was unable to get back to the bag in time. The Royals players on the bench can be seen pointing and reacting to the bizarre sequence of events. Unfortunately, the play results in an injury for Lynch. He appears to be in significant pain, grabbing his shoulder as the Royals' trainer comes out to examine him. The broadcast notes that Lynch is diagnosed with a contusion, which is a fancy term for a bruise. He is forced to exit the game, but the Royals are able to complete the double play to get out of the jam. Despite the injury, the Royals still find a way to turn an unlikely double play in a key moment. The score remains tied at 1-1 as the game heads to the third inning. This play will surely be a talking point, as the combination of the ricochet, the quick reactions and the resulting injury creates a highly unusual and memorable sequence of events in this close contest.

base is loaded bottom of the second

inning a 2-2

count and the game is tied at zero

singers on the bump for the royals ooh

and he drills

arise that's an rbi walk

rbi b b not a fun time

oh that probably hurt so up steps

donaldson and he says your turn [ __ ]

bam

he hits the pitcher it ricochets he

catches it off the ricochet and they

double up the runner that was on second

and then they throw home but that

doesn't matter because they already got

both outs

and uh it's pretty confusing and pretty

confusing in live speed and live time so

here's the wide shot thanks good replay

now it never hit the ground if you're

like why was that an out

it never hit the ground it hit his foot

and popped straight in the air and i

actually think it's crazy that the

runner on first

and the runner on third reacted as

quickly as they could as well as the

first baseman santana to go make that

catch so now there's one out

and they got to get back to their bag

and you know if the

runner on second reacted the same way

they wouldn't have turned a double play

but i'm more surprised that the other

two runners

did figure out what happened then i'm

surprised the runner on second got got

because

you have no idea if that skipped or hit

his foot in the air but i guess you do

if you're closer than that and you look

you can see all the royals on the bench

pointing but yeah bam off the bat

off the foot spins he's

down [ __ ] ow not happy about it he had

to come out of the game

they say that it's just a contusion

which is a fancy word for bruce

unless you're a doctor and you want to

What Happened

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