Colton Cowser's Painful Strikeout Hurts Even More After Orioles' Narrow Loss to Royals

Karl Rasmussen | 4 Hours Ago

Cowser reacts after being hit on the hand by a pitch from Royals' Angel Zerpa. / Greg Fiume/Getty Images

The Baltimore Orioles were bounced from the 2024 MLB postseason in the wild-card round in a narrow 2-1 defeat against the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday.

There's one moment the team, and Colton Cowser in particular, will surely look back on in agony.

After Seth Lugo loaded the bases and was relieved by Angel Zerpa, Cowser stepped into the batter's box in a crucial spot during the bottom of the fifth inning. With one out and the bases full, Cowser was hit by a pitch right on the hand, but it was ruled a strikeout because he swung at the pitch.

It was undoubtedly one of the most painful strikeouts of the 2024 season, and it couldn't have come at a more dire point in the game.

Colton Cowser struck out with the bases loaded on a pitch that hit him pic.twitter.com/LHZHX7emRK

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) October 2, 2024

Had Cowser not swung at the pitch that clipped his hands, he would have been awarded first base and the go-ahead run would've come across the plate. Instead, he was called out on strikes for the third time in three at-bats.

Adley Rutschman was up next and grounded out to shortstop to end the inning, leaving all three runners stranded.

The Orioles did not score again in the game, as their season came to an unfortunate end with just one run scored throughout the entirety of their brief stay in the postseason.

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