SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.–Giants reliever Trevor Gott ran in from the bullpen to pitch the ninth inning at Scottsdale Stadium Friday.
As he finished throwing warmup pitches, Angels third baseman Jhoan Urena trotted out to second base to start the inning in scoring position.
Wait…what?
“I turned around and asked the umpire, ‘Is he supposed to be here?'” Gott said. “He said, ‘Yeah,’ but he looked like he was kind of joking. So I said, ‘For real?’ So it starts today.”
A new rule introduced by Major League Baseball was implemented for the first time Friday in the ninth inning of a tie game.