The baseball bounced once on the infield grass and skipped to the mound. As Royals right-hander Joakim Soria approached a potential escape from a 10th-inning jam, his spikes gave way to the wet dirt. The baseball connected with his leg and ricocheted toward third baseman Christian Colon.
By the time it reached the mitt of first baseman Eric Hosmer, Yankees outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury had blazed past him.
And after a 59-minute rain delay had interrupted the game, a base hit that made it only 70 feet from home plate had interrupted the Royals’ climb back into postseason contention.