If you ever wondered when a home run isn’t a home run, you got your answer Monday night in Miami.
Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto thought he had a two-run home run against the Milwaukee Brewers, but a baserunning gaffe led to an awkward situation for him and teammate Marcell Ozuna.
In the bottom of the second inning, Realmuto hit a deep drive to left-center field. The ball eventually cleared the wall for what looked like a dinger. However, Ozuna — who was at first base — wanted to be sure the ball wasn’t caught. Realmuto, busting out of the box to get extra bases in case the ball wasn’t caught and stayed in the yard, actually passed Ozuna on the basepath.
After an awkward “Oh, darn, there’s something wrong with this picture” moment from Realmuto, both he and Ozuna finished their trots. Not long after, Brewers manager Craig Counsell popped out of the dugout.
The umpires reviewed the play and saw what everyone else saw: Realmuto passed Ozuna, which is a no-no. Ozuna was ruled out, and Realmuto’s two-run home run went into the books as an RBI single.
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How that goes from a two-run home run to an RBI single with an out is a bit puzzling, but you learn something new every day.
