Matt Holliday doubled with an assist from the Tropicana Field roof
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There is no better place in baseball for bizarre park-affected plays than Tropicana Field. There are oddly short fences, catwalks in play, and even a roof that can occasionally be reached. It's a unique ballpark, as newcomer Peter Bourjos learned in a 5-0 loss to the Yankees on Tuesday night.
The Rays acquired Bourjos from the White Sox at the end of Spring Training, so he didn't have a lot of time to adjust to the fact that most of his games would be played at the Trop. He had prior experience as a visitor while he was with the Angels as a younger player, but he hadn't made an appearance there since 2013.
So on a sky-high popup from Matt Holliday to Bourjos in left field, the roof proved to be far from a home-field advantage for Bourjos.
The left fielder lost sight of the ball, allowing Brett Gardner to score and make it a 3-0 game on a lucky double for Holliday.
After the game, MLB.com's Bill Chastain spoke to Bourjos, who said, "I lost it, as you could see from my reaction. The ball got up into the rafters, probably higher than any ball I've ever seen hit here. And once it got up past the first ring, I lost it."
It's unclear if Bourjos lost it in the lights or in the white of the dome roof. Regardless, Bourjos learned a tough lesson about life as an outfielder at the Trop.
The ceiling might be the roof in North Carolina, but down in Florida, the ceiling is apparently, well, the ceiling?