Billy Cook's Cleat Clipped a Glove, And the Pirates' Postseason Hopes Just Took Another Wild Card Hit

Woah, okay, so you are NOT gonna believe how the Pirates-Rockies game ended last night at Coors Field. Like, what even just happened? The Rockies barely edged out the Pirates, 2-1, but it was all thanks to this absolutely bizarre, game-ending runner interference call. Pirates runner Billy Cook's foot made contact with third baseman Kyle Karros' glove while Karros was trying to make the 27th out. Bang, game over. Are you kidding me?!

That's How a Ballgame Ends?!

You had to see it to believe it, even then it was tough. Karros was right there, trying to field the ball, when Cook's cleat just clipped his glove. "I was going to get the ball, then his cleat kind of clipped my glove," Karros told MLB.com after the game. He even looked right at second base umpire Tyler Jones, knowing the rule. Karros said the ball was "rattling around in my glove," so he couldn't get a throw off. And get this: the contact was so subtle, umpires actually had to huddle up and watch replays to confirm it! Pirates manager Don Kelly was, understandably, pretty confused, saying, "I just didn't know, if you saw that, why it wasn't called immediately." Meanwhile, Billy Cook himself didn't even feel it. "I didn't feel contact," he said. "I watched the replay and it nicks just enough of his glove... The video doesn't lie. Just unfor

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tunate how that played out." MLB Rule 6.01 says if a runner "hinders a fielder's attempt to catch or field a batted ball," the batter is out and runners return. In this case, Cook's contact sealed the deal, ending the game right there. Brutal.

Another One Slips Away for the Bucs

This weird ending was the cap on back-to-back tough losses for the Pirates in Colorado. Remember Friday? They had the bases loaded with no outs in the ninth, down 4-3, and *still* couldn't score. A strikeout, then a double play. Ouch. Then Saturday, they had the bases loaded again, this time with one out in the ninth, and couldn't get it done. Another strikeout, then Cook's runner interference. Talk about a gut punch. Pittsburgh is now 38-39, and this was their tenth loss in the last 14 games. They're two games behind the third wild-card spot with five other teams ahead of them, still trying to reach the postseason for the first time since 2015. On the flip side, the Rockies moved to 30-47, which is still the worst record in baseball. But hey, apparently that's a "significant improvement" from last year when they were 17-60 through 77 games. Small victories, I guess. For the Pirates, it's gotta be a tough flight home after losing two games in such frustrating fashion. They've got to find a way to shake this off and start getting those clutch hits if they want any shot at breaking that postseason drought. Every game matters right now!

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.