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Pirates Hitter Thrown Out at First By Left Fielder in Weird MLB Play

Andy Nesbitt

Tommy Pham was called out at first on one of the strangest plays of the MLB season.
Tommy Pham was called out at first on one of the strangest plays of the MLB season. / MLB
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Here's something we haven't seen happen in a MLB in quite some time—a hitter getting thrown out at first after smashing a liner to deep left field.

That happened in Wednesday night's Washington Nationals-Pittsburgh Pirates game at PNC Park and it left everyone a bit confused.

Pittsburgh's Tommy Pham hit a ball to left that looked like it had been caught by James Wood. However, the third base ump ruled that it hit the ground first. Pittsburgh's Oneil Cruz thought it was a catch and returned to first and Pham stopped running thinking he was out.

Wood then threw the ball to first and got the rare 7-3 putout on Pham thanks to some quick thinking from Luis Garcia Jr.

This was a wild one:

You gotta love baseball.

The Pirates went on to win the game 6-1.

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Andy Nesbitt
ANDY NESBITT

Andy Nesbitt is the assistant managing editor of audience engagement at Sports Illustrated. He works closely with the Breaking and Trending News team to shape SI’s daily coverage across all sports. A 20-year veteran of the sports media business, he has worked for Fox Sports, For the Win, The Boston Globe and NBC Sports, having joined SI in February 2023. Nesbitt is a golf fanatic who desperately wants to see the Super Bowl played on a Saturday night.

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