Williams' HR overturned to double after review
CHICAGO -- Reds right fielder Mason Williams (Mase) led off the second inning of Friday afternoon's 3-2 Cubs victory with a quirky extra-base hit on a first-pitch fastball from Alec Mills (Millsy).
Initially called a home run, Cubs left fielder Kyle Schwarber (Schwarbs) emphatically waved to the dugout that the ball never went over the left-center-field fence before it returned to the field of play.
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Following a crew-chief review, it was determined that the ball ricocheted off a rod supporting the basket, which is considered in play at Wrigley Field. Williams was placed at second base with a double after the overturned call.
"I saw [Schwarber] waving at me and I don't know [what happened] from that distance," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "That's a crew-chief review. There's no onus on us to be right or wrong, and they did the right thing and got it right."
According to Statcast™, the ball traveled 377 feet, with an exit velocity of 96 mph.
"It's maybe the first time I've ever seen that, hitting off the basket, off the knob," said Mills, who was making his first Major League start. "You think you've seen it all and you see something new. It was kind of funny."
The next batter, Phillip Ervin (Magic), lined a double to left field off Mills to drive in Williams.
"If it hits anything else, I think it's a homer," Reds interim manager Jim Riggleman said. "It didn't change things. We scored that one, but I've never seen it hit the pole like that."