Pirates rookie Ke'Bryan Hayes has 1st-inning homer wiped out when he misses 1st base

Maybe Lloyd McClendon had the right idea when the former Pittsburgh Pirates manager marched off with first base in protest of a call 20 years ago this month.

Eleven days after rookie first baseman Will Craig made an epic error by chasing Javier Baez of the Chicago Cubs in a rundown back to home plate, rookie third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes made a baserunning blunder that cost the Pirates a run in the first inning Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers at PNC Park.

“They’re two plays I’ve never seen before,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “I think, like we said before, you stay in the game long enough, you see everything.”

Hayes was not made available for postgame interviews by the Pirates.

Hayes hit Walker Buehler’s 3-1 pitch down the right field line for his third home run of the season, a play that drew a challenge from the Dodgers. After a one-minute, nine-second review, Hayes was called out — for failing to touch first on his way around the bases.

Brutal. KeBryan Hayes hit a HR except he missed first base.

HR doesn’t count and he’s called out. pic.twitter.com/Lo7mZvM92e

— Danny Vietti (@DannyVietti) June 8, 2021

Both Hayes and Pirates first base coach Tarrik Brock were watching the ball to see whether it was fair or foul and if it cleared the fence when his left foot completely missed the bag as he rounded first.

“Tarrik’s watching the ball, and obviously Key got caught watching the ball. By the time he got past him, he missed it,” Shelton said. “It’s one of those things that Key thought he caught the back corner of it, and he didn’t. If he even thinks he misses it, he has to go back and touch it.”

The play was ruled a 1-3 putout — from pitcher Buehler to first baseman Max Muncy — so instead of a 1-0 lead, the Pirates had two outs. It also erased a 346-foot shot that would have been Hayes’ third home run of the season, his second since returning June 3 after missing two months with a left hand/wrist injury.

Where the PNC Park crowd cheered McClendon for stealing first after Jason Kendall was called out on a close play in the seventh inning of a 4-4 tie against the Milwaukee Brewers on June 26, 2001, Pirates fans booed when Hayes lost his homer.

In his second at-bat in the third inning, Hayes turned on an inside pitch and roped a single to left-center. This time, he touched first while rounding the base then returned and stood on the bag. When Bryan Reynolds flew out to left, however, Hayes was thrown out at second base. Hayes tagged up but slid past the bag, and was tagged out by Dodgers second baseman Chris Taylor on the throw from left fielder AJ Pollock.