Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve put a hole in a scoreboard with a fly ball into the wall that had to be called a ground rule double during Friday night's game against the visiting Chicago White Sox.
It happened in the bottom of the third with two outs and nobody on as the White Sox held a 3-0 lead. On the 0-1 pitch, Altuve hit a fly ball deep to left field that was poised to bounce off the wall, with left fielder Andrew Benintendi positioning himself to play the bounce.
The left field wall at Minute Maid Park is a manual scoreboard (similar to Fenway Park). The ball by Altuve was apparently hit so hard that it knocked the zero out of place that represented the fourth inning score for the New York Yankees in their game against Detroit, leaving a hole in the wall. The ball went into the hole behind the wall, so the play was over and ruled a ground rule double for Altuve.
In this case, we cannot confirm whether the scoreboard was fixed, but we are sure that found a way to put the zero back into place, at least until the game was over. It would seem to be simpler and cheaper to replace a number in a manual scoreboard than it is to replace a broken lightbulb in a video scoreboard.
Altuve came around to score on the next pitch as Yordan Alvarez brought him home with an RBI single to cut the White Sox lead to 3-1. However, the Astros were unable to sustain the rally in the third inning, and Altuve was unable to reach base again, finishing 1-for-5 with 2 strikeouts.
The Astros fell just short in their comeback attempt as the White Sox held on for a 5-4 victory. However, the Astros still hold a 3-game lead in the American League West.
[ESPN]
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports) and like Holdout Sports on Facebook.
