Working his way back to the Majors, Pirates lefty Francisco Liriano was involved in one of the strangest plays you’ll see all year. On April 30, Liriano’s Indianapolis Indians played host to the Gwinnett Braves.
The score was 6-0 in the bottom of the third as Liriano came to bat with a runner on third base and one out. Liriano pulled a line drive towards first baseman Ernesto Mejia, who appeared to catch it on the fly. First base umpire Max Guyll immediately put up his arm to signal the out. Mejia threw home, but the runner was ruled safe by home plate umpire David Soucy. At some point, Guyll’s ruling is overturned as they say the ball hit the ground, so catcher Jose Yepez throws towards first base to force Liriano -- who hadn’t run, assuming he was out on the liner -- out. The ball bounced and Mejia couldn’t corral it. Pitcher Daniel Rodriguez picked it up and attempted to tag Liriano but it was too late.
I bring this up because a) I hadn’t seen this until today and b) Liriano earned his first win of the season this afternoon as the Pirates beat the Mets 11-2. Liriano went five and one-third innings, allowing one run on six hits and two walks while striking out nine.
Watch the play below, it begins at 1:42.
