Judging by just the scoreboard, the White Sox’s 2-1 victory over the Tigers on Saturday is an unassuming game in the vast expanse of MLB history.
A deeper dive into the game shows two teams that struggled on offense in a pitchers’ duel. Each team had more strikeouts by themselves (11 for Chicago, 10 for Detroit) than there was total hits in the game (seven).
And yet, out of that otherwise-uneventful game came a highlight — er, lowlight — finish: a wild pitch by Jose Cisnero struck home plate umpire Cory Blaser in his face mask, allowing Yoan Moncada to score the game-winning run from third base in the bottom of the 10th inning.
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Tigers catcher Eric Haase didn’t bother to cover home as Cisnero scrambled to find the ball; instead he checked on Blaser as Moncada advanced to home uncontested:
Wild (pitch) pic.twitter.com/1K5uUVv938
— White Sox Talk (@NBCSWhiteSox) June 3, 2023
Why wasn’t play called dead when the ball hit the umpire?
Per MLB Rule 6.01(f), regarding coach and umpire interference, the ball was live even after Blaser was struck in the face.
If a thrown ball accidentally touches a base coach, or a pitched or thrown ball touches an umpire, the ball is alive and in…
