There are a lot of odd angles within Chase Field in Phoenix. That makes opposing teams have to think about how they’ll defend the spacious dimensions.
On Saturday, the Kansas City Royals were on the wrong side of a rare inside-the-park home run in the eighth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
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Let’s set the scene.
D-backs veteran Randal Grichuk hit a fly ball toward the right-center gap. The baseball appeared to hit a chair just beyond the outfield wall and ricocheted off a cup and back into the field of play.
Royals outfielders Kyle Isbel and Jac Caglianone raced to corral the baseball. But they were unable to get to the ball as it trickled all the way around the warning track.
Grichuk didn’t break his stride around the bases. He scored easily and recorded a two-run homer as the D-backs earned a 7-1 victory.
The Royals didn’t challenge whether the home run went over the wall. It was ruled an inside-the-park home run on the field.
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The odd play compounded the Royals’ loss. KC failed to generate offense against Arizona starter Ryne Nelson after scoring nine runs in Friday’s game.
The Royals will look to earn a series win in Sunday’s finale.