Tigers reliever accidentally spiked a ball directly into the mound
There's a long history of pitchers making errant throws to second base, attempting to nab a runner and (usually) turn a double play. For whatever reason, it's the hardest throw for a pitcher to make, probably because they have to lead the shortstop to the bag.
On Tuesday night, though, Tigers reliever Bobby Parnell discovered a new way to throw to second: spike the ball into the mound. That's exactly what he did after realizing his relay would have been way late, so as a result, he tried to hold onto the ball. Nope.
That did not go as planned. https://t.co/tozaP8mj0X pic.twitter.com/E5w6x40yq3
— MLB GIFS (@MLBGIFs) June 8, 2016
The ball ended up in the hand of the third baseman Nick Castellanos, which obviously isn't what Parnell was trying to do. Kevin Pillar wound up reaching at second, but Parnell was able to get out of the jam and hold the deficit to two. That was important because the Tigers won 3-2 in 10 innings thanks to a late rally.
