A painful gaffe by a Tampa Bay Rays outfielder handed Orioles slugger Trey Mancini an unlikely home run on Thursday -- perhaps his final highlight before the home crowd in Baltimore.
Mancini, who is a strong trade candidate ahead of Tuesday's deadline, legged out an inside-the-park homer in the eighth inning after Rays right fielder Josh Lowe lost the high fly in the afternoon sky at Camden Yards.
Unfortunately for Lowe, the lost ball didn't just come down harmlessly in the outfield, but rather bounced off his face and rolled toward the wall down the right-field line, allowing the usually heavy-footed Mancini to scamper all the way around the bases for the Little League home run.
After the play, Mancini, who is a cancer survivor, shared an emotional moment with Orioles fans, who gave him a standing ovation in what might have been his final plate appearance in a Baltimore uniform.
After the game, Lowe, a rookie, took the tough play in stride. He was sporting a noticeable shiner on his left cheek but said his bruised pride was more painful than the shot to the face.
"It was kind of a tough sky toward the end," Lowe said. "But it hadn't really been like that at all. ... I had been fine the entire time. The balls hit before that, I was fine seeing them, but that was the first ball that really got up there and got in the clouds."
Lowe was carrying sunglasses on the play, but they weren't on his face, instead sitting on the bill of his cap. He said he didn't think it would have made a difference if he had been wearing them.
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