CINCINNATI (AP) – Ball three. Take your base.
With the help of a premature walk to Joey Votto that went unnoticed on the field, the Cincinnati Reds rallied for six runs in the seventh inning and beat the Washington Nationals 8-2 on Sunday.
Todd Frazier and Brandon Phillips each homered and drove in two runs as the Reds completed a three-game sweep of the NL East leaders. But it was a three-ball walk to Votto during the big rally that began to generate buzz after the game.
Apparently, none of the umpires and nobody on the field realized the count was 3-2 when Votto trotted to first base with one out. Cincinnati went on to score five more times in the inning.
A statistician on the press level at the ballpark noticed the gaffe and mentioned it to a Reds spokesman. Others watching the game pointed it out on social media. But on the field, play continued without interruption.