ESPN analyst Ben McDonald offered some major praise of Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Seth Lugo's ability to induce soft contact during Wednesday's Game 2 of the wild-card series against the Baltimore Orioles.
While rattling off some stats about the lack of home runs hit against Lugo this year, Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins quickly made him eat those words.
"He's only allowed 16 home runs this year in 210 innings of work. Now, that is a low number. He keeps the ball in the ballpark," said McDonald of Lugo.
On the very next pitch, Mullins deposited Lugo's offering into the right field seats.
Moments after Ben McDonald provided stats proving Seth Lugo's ability to keep the ball in the ballpark, Cedric Mullins made him eat his words...
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 2, 2024
"If you are a Royals fan, you are blaming Ben McDonald and the announcer jinx. - Sean McDonough pic.twitter.com/ZtkZUCpqeH
That's some truly unfortunate timing for McDonald, and Sean McDonough captured the moment flawlessly while seated next to him in the broadcast booth.
"If you are a Royals fan, you are blaming Ben McDonald and the announcer jinx," he said as Mullins trotted around the bases, having tied the game at 1–1.
Mullins's solo shot was the first run scored by the Orioles this postseason after they were blanked by Kansas City in Game 1.
Lugo had only surrendered one home run in the month of September, during which he made five starts and pitched a total of 27 2/3 innings. McDonald was clearly impressed with what he'd seen from the 34-year-old, though he may be wishing he'd waited a few more seconds before offering his praise.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Seth Lugo Victimized By Brutal Announcer Jinx on Home Run Allowed to Cedric Mullins.
