Aug. 10 (UPI) -- Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Rodolfo Castro's phone flew out of his pants pocket as he slid into third base during a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, creating a rare sequence and leading to a talk with his manager.
The odd play occurred in the top of the fourth inning of the 6-4 loss Tuesday at Chase Field in Phoenix.
The Pirates trailed 2-0 when Castro took a walk in the third at-bat of the frame. Pirates designated hitter Oneil Cruz then hit a slider for a line-drive single to center field. Castro flew around second base and left his feet for a dive into third.
His phone then shot out of his left pocket as he hovered above the ground. The phone then bounced through the infield dirt and hit the base. Third base umpire Adam Hamari pointed to the phone on the ground to alert Castro.
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The Pirates infielder then picked up the device and handed it to third-base coach Mike Rebelo, who had a surprised look on his face.
"You stay around the game and you see things you haven't seen before,'' Pirates manager Derek Shelton said in his post-game news conference. "This was just a kid who made a mistake. It's just one of those things we move forward from and tell him, 'You can't do that.'"
Castro, 23, went 0 for 3 with a walk in the loss. He is hitting .189 with a home run and four RBIs through 22 games this season. He was promoted from the Pirates' Triple-A affiliate just hours before Tuesday's game.
The Dominican Republic native also address the situation, through an interpreter, in his post-game interview. He said that he forgot the phone was in his pocket and didn't feel it when he put a sliding pad in the same pocket.
"To be honest with you, I don't think there's any professional ball player that would ever even go out there with any intentions of taking a cellphone," Castro said. "It's horrible that it happened to me.
"Obviously, it was very unintentional. ... The last thing I wanted was to be the center of attention in this form."
The Pirates (44-66) will face the Diamondbacks (50-59) at 9:40 p.m. EDT Wednesday in Phoenix.
