Athletics OF Cristian Pache scores Little League-iest of inside-the-park HRs

Oakland Athletics outfielder Cristian Pache hit a ground ball on Thursday.

It was not a particularly remarkable ground ball, though it was hit fairly hard. According to Statcast, the ball left the bat at an above-average 101.9 mph. By xBA, an attempt to approximate the expected batting average of a ball in play using exit velocity and launch angle, it had a 45 percent chance of being a hit.

Basically, such balls have two outcomes. If they are hit toward an infielder, it's a routine play and likely out. If they find a gap, it's an easy single. Pache's ball, however, led to a third outcome: complete havoc.

After the ball whizzed past Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco, it was up to either left fielder Randy Arozarena or center fielder Kevin Kiermaier to corral it. Arozarena got first crack, only to accidentally boot the ball while attempting a sliding stop to field it. The ball bounced just out of Kiermaier's reach and headed all the way to the center field wall.

You would think the mistakes would stop when the ball was basically stationary, but Kiermaier, a three-time Gold Glover, committed yet another error when he bobbled the ball while trying to pick it up with his glove.

That sealed the most Little League of inside-the-park home runs for Pache, though the play was officially scored as a single with a three-base error for Arozarena. You can see the video above and judge for yourself where the credit (or blame) lies.

Single or homer, the result was three runs for the A's, who went on to win 6-3 to improve their record to 4-3. Pache, acquired from the Atlanta Braves last offseason via the Matt Olson trade, is now hitting .304/.304/.348 in his first seven games with Oakland. Officially, he still has not hit a homer.