ANAHEIM -- Well, you don’t see that every day.
The Athletics, almost impressively, failed to score while having a runner cross home plate -- fitting, considering their recent play on the road.
In the second inning of the A's game against the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday at Angel Stadium, a stumbling Kyle McCann missed home after rounding third on a Max Schuemann double.
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The A’s catcher ultimately would be ruled out, not because of the mishap, but because of an ensuing one.
Upon a lengthy replay review, McCann was called out for making contact with his newest A’s teammate, Armando Alvarez -- the baseball gods truly are hard on Oakland.
Kyle McCann was called out after failing to touch the plate and then proceeding to make contact with Armando Alvarez before going back to touch home 🙃 pic.twitter.com/p046l0Mdxa
— A's on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) June 26, 2024
Alvarez, who made his first career MLB start on Tuesday, was trying to help his A’s teammate stay on his feet, as McCann trailed him on the basepath, eager to score.
Oakland Athletics
Unfortunately for Alvarez, despite natural human instincts and reflexes, he was in the wrong for making contact with McCann, which resulted in the final out of the inning.
The A’s were set up for a big inning with the top of the lineup coming up, but instead let the Angels off easy. To make matters worse, Los Angeles didn’t even make a throw home -- an unforce embarrassment on Oakland’s part.
The A’s, losers of four consecutive games and in the midst of a season-worst 10-game road losing streak, really could do without the detrimental dramatics. Oakland also has dropped four straight series in Anaheim.
For the moment, the A’s looked to be on the right track in the current series finale. But instead of some fist bumps and high fives in the dugout for what was assumed to be a 2-0 Oakland lead, its young duo likely landed a prime spot on blooper reels.
McCann and Alvarez, two rookies, surely won’t make the same mistakes again -- right?