Maldonado literally hit the cover off the ball in what will be one of the more peculiar plays of the season.
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Maldonado grounded to third, where Pedro Alvarez fielded a ball that's cover had partially ripped off. Alvarez threw the flapping, awkwardly floating ball toward first, but it fell well short of the bag, giving Maldonado an infield single.
"I said to Hurdle, 'You see something new every day, huh?," pitcher Kyle Lohse said. "He kind of chuckled."
Asked if he'd seen it before, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said flatly, "Never. Never. Ever."
"It was just one of those games," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. "Goofy stuff happened early — then goofy stuff happened when Maldy hit the cover off the ball. I've never seen that before. We got a run because of it. I don't know. Just a strange game. Hard to explain."
Contributing: The Associated Press
