Watch as Orioles batter fouls off 12 pitches in at-bat against Royals’ Taylor Clarke
At one point Tuesday night, the announced crowd of 10,487 for the Royals’ 11-7 loss to the Orioles at Kauffman Stadium began cheering foul balls.
That may sound odd, but the fans were witnessing something few see at a baseball game. In the eighth inning, Orioles right fielder Anthony Santander fouled off an astounding 12 straight pitches from Royals relief pitcher Taylor Clarke.
It was part of an epic 16-pitch at-bat that ended with Santander blooping a single to right field as his bat broke.
Santander told MLB.com with a smile he was tired after the at-bat.
“But don’t give away the AB,” he said. “Focus to get on base.”
Taylor threw 34 total pitches in the inning, including 26 strikes.
“That was a long one,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said of the Santander at-bat. “Yeah, for sure. I mean, that was a whole innings worth of pitches right there. But I couldn’t tell you what the longest that I’ve seen. That’s gotta be up there.”
Here’s the epic duel.
