If there is one thing — one thing! — you would assume a Major League Baseball pitcher could do pretty reliably, it is throw a ball to a catcher. They don’t necessarily have to do it well, relative to other Major League-level pitchers, but theoretically, these are folks who have done this hundreds of thousands of times in their life and they should be able to do this in their sleep.
And yet, the Seattle Mariners exist. The M’s traveled to northeast Ohio to take on the Cleveland Indians on Saturday night, and despite a good outing by Yusei Kikuchi, the team looked primed to head to extra after the bullpen couldn’t take them home. Paul Sewald came in during the bottom of the 10th inning, and after allowing a Amed Rosario single, the team opted to intentionally walk Jose Ramirez to load up the bases and have force outs everywhere.
And then, Harold Ramirez stepped to the dish and hits a lazy grounder to Sewald. All he had to do was get the force out at home and OH MY DEAR GOD HOW?
SEATTLE CAN’T MAKE THE PLAY AT THE PLATE AND CLEVELAND (-120) WALKS IT OFF
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— The Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) June 12, 2021
The Indians came out on top as a result of this, 5-4. This is a one-in-a-million circumstance, but unfortunately for the Mariners, that meant being on the opposite end of a walk-off.
