MLB umpire is drilled in the FACE by a 96.4 mph fastball to hand the Chicago White Sox a bizarre win over the Detroit Tigers
- Detroit’s Jose Cisnero was throwing when his fastball hit Cory Blaser in the face
- Blaser was helped to his feet by the White Sox players once the game was over
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
Yoán Moncada headed home on a wild 10th-inning pitch that knocked down MLB umpire Cory Blaser, sending the Chicago White Sox to a bizarre 2-1 win over the Detroit Tigers on Saturday.
All three points of the game were scored on wild pitches.
Chicago’s Romy González opened the 10th inning with a sacrifice fly against Tigers reliever Jose Cisnero (2-1), moving auto-runner Moncada to third.
After Yasmani Grandal rebounded to second and Gavin Sheets was walked to first, Jake Burger was hit by a pitch. It was originally ruled a foul ball, then the appeal was overturned after a challenge. Tim Anderson was at the plate when Cisnero threw a 96.4 mph first-pitch fastball that hit Blaser right in the facemask.
Blaser immediately felt behind and, as he lay on his back, play continued with Moncada heading home and Cisnero attempting to chase the ball while his receiver dealt with the referee at his feet.
The Chicago White Sox got the referee’s help in a no-call win over Detroit on Saturday
Chicago’s Yoann Moncada scored the winning run off the field that hit Blaser in the face
Blaser needed Anderson to help him up.
“This is the first time this has happened to me,” Moncada said through an interpreter. “It was a very weird thing.”
“Never seen that,” White Sox pitcher Dylan Cease said. ‘I just hope he’s okay. Took 96 (mph) straight to the face mask.
The referee team declined to comment on the incident. Major League Baseball said Blaser is being evaluated.
Tigers catcher Eric Haase said the call was for a slider on the last pitch, but Cisnero heard a pellet.
“It looked like he was crossed over or he didn’t get it,” Tigers manager AJ Hinch said. ‘The referee falls. The ball came towards the dugout, and they got a foot victory. It seemed like there was some kind of misunderstanding.
Blaser was helped back to his feet as soon as Saturday’s game in Chicago ended in 10th
MLB said Blaser was being evaluated after Saturday’s game (seen at Fenway in April)
Andrew Benintendi had two hits for the White Sox, who won three of four. Reynaldo López (1-4) threw a scoreless 10th.
Zach McKinstry tripled and scored for the Tigers.
Benintendi scored a single, stole the second, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on another wild pitch from Michael Lorenzen in the fourth. Lorenzen struck out three in the inning.
Another wild pitch brought the tying run in the sixth. McKinstry started with a triple to the right field fence and scored on Cease’s wild field.
“You don’t see a lot of that, certainly not in a low-scoring game when it all counts,” Hinch said of the wild pitches. ‘It happened today. If you stay long enough you will see a lot. It’s definitely a bad way to lose.
Liam Hendriks played for the second time this year after returning from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
Liam Hendriks pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning in his second appearance of the season after returning from stage four non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
He signaled he wanted the ball after his first strikeout of the season and returned to the dugout to cheers.
“It was clean,” said Hendriks, who put the ball in his bag after Saturday’s home win.
‘Deeper accounts than I would have liked. Everything is on.
Hendriks was charged with two runs in an inning against the Angels in his first appearance on Monday. Neither appearance was a save opportunity for the closer.
