Lake Buena Vista, Fla. — It was the 15th pitch of the at-bat.
Braves hitter Tyler Flowers had fouled off nine straight pitches. With the count full, Tigers starter Mike Fiers threw a breaking ball that bounced, startlingly, 15 feet in front of the plate.
Tigers’ trainers and pitching coach Chris Bosio hustled to the mound to make sure Fiers was OK.
“He threw a curve ball that about hit himself in the foot,” manager Ron Gardenhire said. “So yeah, we thought we better go look at him.”
Fiers’ pride might have stung a bit, but his arm was fine.