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Los Angeles Angels' Justin Upton hits homer into giant paint can, not eligible for $1M prize to charity

By Alex Butler
Los Angeles Angels star Justin Upton hit a home run into the Sherwin Williams paint can Tuesday at Angel Stadium. Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Angels/Instagram
Los Angeles Angels star Justin Upton hit a home run into the Sherwin Williams paint can Tuesday at Angel Stadium. Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Angels/Instagram

Sept. 21 (UPI) -- Los Angeles Angels star Justin Upton hit a home run into a paint can reading: 'Angels home run in the can $1,000,000,' but he's not eligible for the prize.

Because the ball bounced.

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The Angels also lost the game 6-3 to the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday at Angel Stadium.

But back to this home run.

Upton stepped up to bat in the bottom of the ninth inning with his team trailing 6-2. He took two balls before working the count to 3-2. He turned Cody Allen's seventh offering into a 448 foot blast to left field. The ball cleared the left field fence and took a hop off of the grass, before landing in the giant paint can.

Sherwin Williams has a deal with the team that it will donate $1 million to the Angels Baseball Foundation if a player hits a ball into the can. The Angels Baseball Foundation is the teams' charity for kids.

The Angels told ESPN that the home run would not count for the promotion because it bounced before it landed in the can instead of entering the can on the fly.

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Frazee Paint - which is now owned by Sherwin Williams - originally agreed with the Angels to have the promotion in 2014. The news release for the promotion specified that a home run would have to land in the can "on the fly" for the donation to take place.

Upton now has a career-high 32 home runs on the season. He was traded to the Angels in August.

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