Three attacks, and you’re out. At least, that’s what happens most of the time in baseball. Houston Astros slugger Yarden Alvarez, however, did get a bonus strike in one of his at-bats against the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday.
In the bottom of the third inning, Alvarez faced Red Sox starter Rich Hill, and struck out on four pitches. Alvarez took a strike to make it a 1-1 count, fouled off the next pitch and then looked for strike three.
The problem was that no one at Minute Maid Park saw Alvarez attack (Check out the video here). No Red Sox player or coach protested when Alvarez stayed in the batter’s box, other umpires failed to correct the error, and even the announcers moved on without realizing what had happened.
Here’s statistical proof of the error, courtesy of MLB.com’s Gameday.
MLB.com
The good news for the Red Sox is that the mistake didn’t cost them. On the pitch after his expected strikeout, Alvarez dribbled to first base to throw out a routine ground ball.
If there’s one player who doesn’t need any extra help at the plate, it’s Alvarez. Entering Wednesday’s game, he was hitting .307 with 30 home runs and 71 RBI while leading MLB in on-base percentage (.413) and OPS (1.076).
