Billy Butler came through with an RBI single to drive in the Royals’ first run of their wild card playoff game on Tuesday, but he also ended the inning with a blunder on the bases.
Butler hit a single to left field to drive in a run and make it 2-1 Oakland with two outs in the first. A’s pitcher Jon Lester got ahead 0-2 on Alex Gordon, and before the third pitch of the at-bat, he caught Butler snoozing off the first base bag.
The A’s got Butler in a rundown and threw home to tag out Eric Hosmer, who figured he might as well try to score while his teammate was in a pickle.
Royals manager Ned Yost said in an in-game interview that the team was trying to run a first-and-third play, but they executed it poorly.
