An umpire accidentally assisted the Royals in getting a Tigers batter out on Sunday
Royals starter Brady Singer didn’t need much help Sunday in handling the Tigers’ lineup in Kansas City’s 4-0 win.
But Singer got an assist anyway, and it came from an unlikely source: first-base umpire Lew Williams.
The Tigers had a runner on first with one out in the sixth inning when right fielder Victor Reyes hit a grounder down the first base line. The ball appeared to deflect off Royals first baseman Nick Pratto’s glove and hit umpire Lew Williams.
Rather than having the ball skip away from Pratto, he was able to grab it after it was stopped by Williams. Pratto then dived toward first base. Reyes slid but Pratto got their first for the out.
The bit of good fortune kept the Tigers from having runners on first and third with one out. Instead, there was a runner on second with one out, and Javier Báez followed and made the final out of the inning.
How do you score this? 3-U-3? Nah, of course that’s not the case. But this was a weird play.
