The Texas Rangers defeated the Detroit Tigers 3-2 in 11 innings on a suicide-squeeze bunt by Alberto Gonzalez. The play was not without controversy as Tigers manager Jim Leyland argued that the ball hit the right knee of Gonzalez, but his argument to the umpires fell flat as the play ultimately stood and the Rangers won.
After the game home plate umpire Tim Welke said that during the game they did not see the ball hit Gonzalez:
"We did not see the ball hit anybody on the field,'' Welke told a pool reporter. "You can decide whatever you want and deduce from that. We called what we saw, and we didn't see him get hit.''
However, after seeing the replay after the game Welke acknowledged that the ball did hit Gonzalez's knee.
When asked about the play, Gonzalez said that the ball did hit his knee:
"Yes ... As soon as I hit it, I kept going. I didn't want to stay there and see what happened. I wanted to run hard and see if the umpire would call it. It was a good thing he didn't call it."
Looks like the Rangers got a lucky break in their extra-inning win over the Tigers on Sunday afternoon.
For more news and analysis on the Rangers, head over to Lone Star Ball while Bless You Boys has you covered for all things Tigers. Head over to Baseball Nation for even more MLB news and notes.
