Cody Bellinger lost credit for a home run on Thursday due to an unusual baserunning quirk.
Bellinger was batting in the top of the third inning of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Opening Day game against the Colorado Rockies. Justin Turner was on first base.
Bellinger sent a pitch from German Marquez to the opposite field that left fielder Raimel Tapia went back to catch. Tapia appeared to catch the ball, but the ball fell out of his glove and went over the wall for a home run. That should have put the Dodgers up 2-0.
But there was one issue: Turner thought the ball was caught, so he ran from past second base all the way back to first to avoid the double play. As he raced back to first, he passed by Bellinger. Runners are not allowed to pass the baserunner in front of them, otherwise they are out.
One of the craziest moments you'll see at a baseball game
Cody Bellinger hits a two-run home run, but with Justin Turner running back to first base and Bellinger passing him, it officially becomes a single instead and Bellinger is out pic.twitter.com/dzB9yIHghZ
— Blake Harris (@BlakeHarrisTBLA) April 1, 2021
What should have been a 2-run home run for Bellinger instead was ruled a solo home run. Turner was credited with the run, while Bellinger was called out at first for an RBI single. Next time, Bellinger should be more careful about not passing the runner in front of him, even if the circumstances were odd.
The Dodgers lost 8-5.
