Yordano Ventura was so focused on the mound he didn't see Drew Butera coming out for a visit
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It's not often a starting pitcher gets scared by his own catcher.
But that's what happened in the seventh inning of the Royals' 8-3 win over the White Sox on Monday.
With two out, Ventura had his head down on the mound, presumably focusing on what he wanted to do with his next pitch. Ventura didn't see that catcher Drew Butera had started out toward the mound to have a chat.
Ventura suddenly looked up and saw Butera right in front of him and, obviously startled, jumped back as if he'd seen a ghost:
The Kauffman Stadium crowd got a good chuckle out of it.
After the game, Ventura (through his translator Pedro Grifol) admitted that, "I wasn't expecting him," while Butera explained it as follows:
"I think he had been upset with a couple of calls, so I thought I'd go out there and settle him down. But he never saw me. So when he kind of stepped back, I said, 'You OK?' And that's when he started laughing."
The Royals right-hander got the last laugh, however, notching a complete-game victory over the White Sox on the afternoon.