DENVER — The Diamondbacks sent in left-hander Jalen Beeks to close out a blowout win in the bottom of the ninth inning on Thursday night, Aug. 14, against the Colorado Rockies.
Beeks did so, but not before choking down an unwanted snack while on the mound.
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Beeks, while in his delivery for a pitch, inadvertently swallowed a fly.
It was the reason he appeared to be in some discomfort on the mound immediately afterward.
“I swallowed a fly when I raised my leg. Never had that happen,” Beeks said after the game, a wry smile on his face. “We got through it. We got the win, that’s the important thing.”
Beeks said he gagged a little bit and it took him a moment to regroup. Manager Torey Lovullo noticed something wrong and came out to talk to Beeks, and got some much-needed water.
Beeks saw the fly all the way into his face, but, since he had to throw the ball, he couldn’t interrupt his delivery.
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“You just hold your breath and you’re wondering, is it a side, an oblique, a back?” Lovullo said. “I could see that he looked like he was coughing or gagging, something was going on. Never seen that before. First time for me.”
Catcher José Herrera didn’t see the fly, but when he saw Beeks spitting and coughing, he went out to check on his teammate.
“He was good. I talked to him after the game and he was OK,” Herrera said.
Beeks finished the inning with a run allowed on two hits and a strikeout.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Shoo fly, don’t bother Jalen Beeks: Diamondbacks pitcher swallows bug