Seattle Mariners pitcher Tayler Saucedo was forced to exit the game after suffering an unexpected injury against the Minnesota Twins. The incident took place in the bottom of the eighth inning as Austin Martin tried to make it to first base while Saucedo rushed to make the play.
It all seemed fine until the Mariners pitcher dropped to the ground after Martin made it to safety with a dive. It looked like a collision at first base as Tayler Saucedo struggled with a leg injury. The 30-year-old was seen rolling on the ground in pain, while Max Kepler dashed to home plate and scored the tying run.
Kepler believed the ball was live and the game was in play. However, MLB fans beg to differ as they took to social media to blame the umpires for not stopping the game despite an injury.
Fans reacted to the controversial incident which saw Twins draw level in the game.
"Umps should've stopped the game" - wrote one fan on X.
"100% should have been a dead ball. Umpire should have called play when Sauce went down in pain like that," another fan added.
"Why wouldn’t they call time when he’s clearly injured?" asked one fan.
The majority of fans called out the umpire for not stopping the game.
"Ump just gonna sit there and watch him writh in pain and not call time? Bush league," wrote one fan.
"Why isn’t that a dead ball," asked another fan.
"There needs to be a rule to stop play for an injury. Them taking the run like that is ridiculous," another fan added.
Mariners defeat the Twins despite Tayler Saucedo's injury and game-tying run
It was a rough night for the Mariners at Target Field, but they did well to break the tie despite Tayler Saucedo's injury. The offense opened up in the ninth inning as they smashed four runs off reliever Jorge Alcala
Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh was the bright spot of the game after smashing a pinch-hit grand slam during the seventh inning.
Andres Munoz sealed the game for the Mariners as they went on to win with a 10-6 final score, their sixth in the last ten games. The Mariners are in the second position in the AL West, just one game behind the Texas Rangers.