Injury to insult: Tigers' Kerry Carpenter hurt on misplay that led to Bobby Witt Jr. inside-the-park-homer
Witt sprinted around the bases in 14.13 seconds, the fourth-fastest time since Statcast began tracking runners in 2015.
Kerry Carpenter gave Bobby Witt Jr. an opening and the Kansas City Royals’ All-Star shortstop seized it, jetting around the bases for an inside-the-park home run in a 5-1 win over the Detroit Tigers on Saturday. The play occurred in the first inning when Witt sliced an inside fastball from Tigers starter Burch Smith down the right-field line.
Carpenter had a long way to run from right-center field to field the ball. But upon getting to the corner, the outfielder collided with the wall in foul territory and the ball caromed away from him. Carpenter took approximately four seconds to get to the ball, which rolled over to the outfield warning track.
That gave Witt the opportunity to sprint for more than a triple. By the time he threw the ball to the infield, Witt had already rounded third base and was on his way to score. The Royals shortstop easily beat the relay throw, sliding into home head-first for a two-run, inside-the park homer that also scored Maikel Garcia for a 2-0 lead.
Again, those four seconds during which Carpenter chased down the carom were crucial because Witt only needed 14. 13 seconds to dash from the batter’s box around the bases back to home plate. Bobby Witt Jr has 2 of the 7 fastest tracked home-to-home times under Statcast (2015): 8/18/17 Byron Buxton: 13.