(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
The Kansas City Royals are the last-place team in the AL Central with a 12-27 record.
However, they are very close to the fourth-place squad, the Chicago White Sox, after beating them on Thursday with an old-fashioned, yet highly exciting play.
Yes, it was a walk-off bunt that ended the game and scored the Royals a 4-3 victory.
Here is the play:
WALK-OFF BUNT pic.twitter.com/xH2cbA5CPz
— MLB (@MLB) May 11, 2023
Freddy Fermin was facing one of the toughest White Sox relievers, Reynaldo Lopez.
Fermin had attempted a few bunts throughout the week, without much success.
This time, he did it right and it earned his team a victory.
Nick Pratto was on third base, and immediately took off to find home plate before a play was made.
It was the bottom of the ninth, with the game tied.
The bunt was so good that there was no play at all.
Bunting is slowly being phased out of most MLB games because teams have correctly concluded that they are giving an out away, which is the cost to move a runner forward one base.
However, sometimes you have to let the game flow dictate your next move, and that’s what Royals manager Matt Quatraro did.
Fermin is a backup catcher, so while he is hitting .333 on the season, the sample is too small to say he is legit.
So, the skipper tried something different and it worked.
Bunting is not usually recommended, but it might still be useful in certain situations.
The squeeze play, in this case, was perfectly executed and it ended up securing a win for Kansas City.
The post The Royals Took Down The White Sox On A Rare Play appeared first on The Cold Wire.