Jeremy Guthrie lost a no-hit bid against the White Sox on Sunday when a controversial infield single was awarded to Paul Konerko.
Guthrie went six and two-thirds no-hit innings before Konerko was awarded with Chicago’s first hit of the game in the seventh. Konerko hit a ground ball in the hole between third baseman Mike Moustakas and shortstop Alicides Escobar. Escobar went to his backhand to field the ball, and he threw a one-hopper to first base. Eric Hosmer was unable to make the catch, allowing Konerko to reach. Official scorer Del Black awarded Konerko with a hit.
Black, who has been scoring Royals games since 1975, later defended his decision.
“The shortstop was on the grass,” said Black, according to The Associated Press. “He had to make a backhanded stop and he was off balance. It’s a tough play from that deep. He makes that play a lot, but it’s a tough play.”
Guthrie struck out the next batter to end the inning. He went 7.2 innings allowing two runs (none earned), three hits, and did not take a decision in the 5-2 win. He didn’t seem too upset about Konerko being awarded a hit.
“That’s a tough ground ball there,” Guthrie said. “I didn’t think Esky would get to it. When he got to it, I knew we had a shot at it and it just didn’t work out.
“It was a tough play. He played himself into the chance to get an error or an (sic) hit. It went the way the scorer scored it. If he scored it a hit, great. If he scored it an error, great. My goal was to finish out the game with zero runs.”
Guthrie allowed two runs, but none were earned. He’s still 2-3 since being traded from Colorado to Kansas City, though he does lead the team with a streak of 22 straight scoreless innings. The deal seems to be working out quite well for the Royals.
