Why Orioles and Pirates played bottom of the ninth of spring training game without umpires
Officially, Tuesday's spring training game between the Baltimore Orioles and Pittsburgh Pirates ended with Baltimore's Josh Lester grounding out in the top of the ninth, securing a 7-4 victory for Pittsburgh.
The two teams elected to still play the bottom of the ninth, though, producing a funny visual where there were no umpires on the field – since they had walked off following the official conclusion of the game.
The Orioles, apparently, wanted to get some work on the mound for right-hander Ofreidy Gómez, and after a quick discussion between Pirates manager Derek Shelton and Baltimore's Brandon Hyde, the teams decided to keep going.
The Orioles and Pirates both wanted to play the bottom of the 9th inning despite the Pirates technically winning the game 7-4
The umpires left the field thinking the game was over and both teams proceeded to play with no umps pic.twitter.com/dQVKxYovC3— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) February 28, 2023
“We were told by the league we could clear it by the umpires and pitch the bottom half of the ninth inning, and I guess (crew chief) Chad Fairchild felt like we couldn’t,” Hyde said, according to reporters on the scene.
Orioles catcher Maverick Handley, a non-roster invitee who has never played above the Double-A level, called balls and strikes in the ninth inning.
some highlights from The Umpireless Inning: https://t.co/P3MSafaLMQ pic.twitter.com/Rf8UjrE7GG
— Céspedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) February 28, 2023
Contributing: Associated Press
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Orioles finish game without umpires
