In the bottom of the eighth of a 2-2 game with the Pirates, Kurt Suzuki stepped to the plate, saw a couple of pitches, and hit a popup in foul ground between home and first. Jason Jaramillo, the Pirates catcher, biffed it, right off the heel of his glove. Ray Fosse immediately noted (probably commenting on the silliness of the rule) that if Kurt Suzuki hit a homer in this at-bat, it'd count as an unearned run for the pitcher, Evan Meek.

You don't need me to tell you what Suzuki did on the very next pitch he saw. It was a shot, too, a no-doubter high and deep into the left field bleachers.

(Oakland went on to win as Andrew Bailey worked around a leadoff single and a two-out walk to get the save in the top of the ninth. The single was erased on a 6-4-3 double play with a typically genius pivot by Mark Ellis. The walk? Jose Tabata blasted a ball on the ground toward the 3-4 hole ... which bonked the runner going to second. Greg Papa: "If that doesn't say it all for the Pirates." I almost feel bad.) Tweet