Pirates Player Has Home Run Revoked After Review Shows He Missed First Base by Inches
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Pittsburgh Pirates' third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes had a home run taken away from him during Tuesday night's game after a replay showed he missed touching first base by inches.
The blunder occurred during the Pirates home game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at PNC Park. According to Yahoo Sports, Hayes hit a solo home run down right field, giving Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead over the defending World Series champions.
However, a review of Hayes' play revealed he didn't touch first base, which meant the home run wasn't one after all. Footage of the play posted to social media shows Hayes' left foot missing the base by inches as he stared at his baseball flying in the distance.
"It's one of those things that Key thought he caught the back corner of it, and he didn't," Pirates manager Derek Shelton said of 24-year-old Hayes' error, the Associated Press reported. "If he even thinks he misses it, he has to go back and touch it."
According to MLB.com, a player missing first base during a potential home run is a rare occurrence. The last time a player did so was in June 1983, Retro Sheet reported.
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"That's a once-in-a-lifetime thing and it won't happen again," Pirates' player Bryan Reynolds said of the play. "That could have easily been a day-ruiner for him and he could have mentally checked out, but he had a lot of good at-bats after that, which says a lot about him as a player and as a person."
Hayes is the son of former MLB player Charlie Hayes. He was considered a favorite to win 2021 National League Rookie of the Year, but missed two months of the season due to injury, the AP reported.
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The Dodgers went on to win the game 5-3, thanks to pitcher Walker Buehler.
"The biggest thing for me were the seven innings," Buehler said after the game. "That's my job every time I go out there, try to throw as many innings as possible and save some wear on the bullpen."
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Buehler has not lost a game in his last 21 starts, the AP said. That ties him for the longest streak in Dodgers' history.
"He was great," Dodgers second baseman Chris Taylor said of Buehler. "He was working fast, was throwing strikes and had all his pitches working. I love playing defense behind him. He almost lulls the other team to sleep and, all of a sudden, it's the seventh inning."
