Phillies Scott Kingery Hits The Most Bizarre Home Run Of The Year

PHILADELPHIA, PA — Home runs are getting knocked out of the park at a record pace in 2019, so perhaps it should come as no surprise that one of that large sample size is among the more bizarre in recent memory.

It came in the bottom of the third inning Tuesday night, as the Phillies hosted the Atlanta Braves for the second of a three-game set in Philadelphia.

Scott Kingery came up to the plate to face Max Fried, and he smashed a 94 mile an hour fastball over the fence in dead center field. From the crack of the bat, it looked like Kingery had gotten all of it. But Kingery didn't sit around and watch it go, as so many players do when they hit long fly balls.

He sprinted out of the box.

Meanwhile the ball did indeed carry out and over the fence in dead center, but it just so happened that one of the game's premier outfielders, Ronald Acuna Jr., was patrolling the grass. Acuna ranged out to the warning track, timed his leap perfectly, and ice-cream-coned the ball with the tip of his glove.

As Acuna landed back on the ground with the ball in his glove, he straightened both his arms out down his side, beginning his celebration before the catch was complete. The motion threw the ball out of his glove and down to the ground.

Acuna motioned in the outfield to claim that he had caught it, when really, he'd only knocked it back into the park. Meanwhile, Kingery was tearing around second already and heading for third.

Acuna scrambled for the ball now and fired it down to second baseman Ozzie Albies, who relayed it home to catcher Brian McCann. The throw beat Kingery by a step, but was wide of the plate; as McCann dove for the ball, Kingery slid around him, and safe into home, for an inside the park home run.

Home run, not a home run, and home run again.

Watch the full scene below:

It wound up being one of five home runs in the first six innings of the game for the Phillies, including three in the first inning. They defeated the Braves, 6-5, to bring themselves within 2.5 games of a playoff spot.