HOUSTON (AP) – Four-time Gold Glove first baseman Eric Hosmer overran a towering popup with two outs in the 10th inning Saturday night, allowing the ball to fall without being touched and giving the Houston Astros a bizarre 1-0 win over the San Diego Padres.
A single by Brian McCann and a steal by pinch runner Derek Fisher – ruled safe after a video review flipped the call – set up the unusual ending.
Alex Bregman hit the pop and Hosmer, signed to a rich free agent deal by the Padres, ran in to make the play.
But with reliever Phil Maton and third baseman Christian Villaneuva staying out of the way, Hosmer suddenly realized he was in trouble and had no chance to catch it. The ball plopped onto the grass a few feet behind him, between the plate, mound and first base.
Fisher scored without a throw on what was scored as a single. Last October at the same park, Bregman lined a single that scored the pinch running Fisher from second in the 10th inning to lift the Houston over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 of the World Series.