DENVER — Cody Bellinger hit a homer — and was called out before he could finish his trot.
It was an honest mistake on a bizarre play for Bellinger, Justin Turner and the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in their season opener Thursday against the Colorado Rockies.
Bellinger lined what appeared to be a two-run homer to left-center in the third inning — a ball that hit off the glove of outfielder Raimel Tapia and bounded over the fence.
Turner was on first base at the time and believed the ball was caught. As he retreated to first base, Bellinger passed him in the confusion, prompting umpires to call him out.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts briefly came out of the dugout to discuss the call.
Turner was allowed to jog home, and Bellinger was officially credited with a single and an RBI — but no home run. The 2019 NL MVP remains at 123 career homers.
Rockies second baseman Chris Owings was given a putout because he was closest to the play.
The most famous incident along these lines in MLB history occurred in one of the most famous games ever pitched. Pittsburgh’s Harvey Haddix tossed 12 perfect innings against the Milwaukee Braves on May 26, 1959, but the score remained 0-0 into the bottom of the 13th inning.
Haddix lost the perfect game on an error and — following a sacrifice bunt — intentionally walked Hank Aaron. Joe Adcock then hit an apparent game-winning home run — except Adcock passed Aaron between second and third base, when Aaron headed to the dugout, thinking the ball had bounced off the outfield fence.
Umpires originally declared a 2-0 victory for the Braves, but National League president Warren Giles later changed Adcock’s hit to an RBI double with a 1-0 official score.
ESPN’s David Schoenfield and The Associated Press contributed to this report.