Braves manager ejected in blowout win over Royals following funky play in left field
Royals starting pitcher Brady Singer struggled mightily during the first two innings of Friday night’s 10-3 loss to the Atlanta Braves, but at one point he caught a break.
The Braves led 5-1 in the second inning and had a runner on first when Atlanta’s Matt Olson lifted a ball down the left-field line.
Royals outfielder Edward Olivares ran toward the foul pole and then watched as the ball hit off the curved wall at Kauffman Stadium. Umpires initially ruled the ball landed foul, but Atlanta manager Brian Snitker challenged and the call was overturned.
As you can see here, the ball clearly landed on the line, so it was fair.
Oddly, Olivares made no play on the ball even though he appeared to be in position to at least attempt a catch.
Royals manager Matt Quatraro gave his view of the funky play after the game.
“The ball was way up in the air,” Quatraro said. “It was a windy night. I think what he thought was the ball was going to be foul. Or now that you also have the net that goes up.
“There’s probably some assumption on his part that it might hit the net or it’s just far foul, and then as it got to its apex and started to work its way back in and, as you saw on the replay, hit right on the line.”
The missed call isn’t what upset Snitker. After the review, umpires put runners on first and second. The runner on first was speedy Ronald Acuña, and Snitker thought he should have been at third base at the very least.
Snitker argued with the umpires, who finally tossed the Braves manager.
“I just disagreed with where they placed the runners,” Snitker told reporters after the game. “They got the call right, but I don’t think they placed the runners in the right spot. You have one of the fastest guys in Major League Baseball at first and you’re going to put him at second base on a ball down the line off the wall. I would have been OK if they would have scored him. That’s judgment and I didn’t agree with it.”
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