Rockies Denied Walk-off Home Run vs. Mariners Due to Egregious Fan Interference
Colorado Rockies catcher Jacob Stallings was robbed of a walk-off home run against the Seattle Mariners on Sunday, though it wasn't a defender who was responsible for the robbery.
During the bottom of the ninth inning of a 0–0 game, Stallings hit what would've been the game-winning homer on a wall-scraping line drive to left-center field.
As the ball approached the seats in the outfield, a fan in the first row of the Coors Field outfield reached forth and attempted to catch the ball, though he was unsuccessful in securing the souvenir—and at a great cost to the home team.
The ball careened off the fan's mitt and back into play, and Stallings hustled in for a sliding double. After reviewing the play, however, the umpires determined that the fan interfered with the catch on the ball.
As a result, Stallings was ruled out.
The fan interference marked the final out of the inning and the Rockies and Mariners went to extras. Colorado eventually won, 2–1, courtesy of an infield single from Ryan McMahon in the 10th inning.
The two sides will take the field again on Sunday evening for the second leg of their doubleheader.
