A young fan was ejected from the Baltimore Orioles’ home game against the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday after he tossed a ball to Toronto outfielder Jesus Sanchez and hit him in the wrist.
Sanchez exited the game in the sixth inning to have his right wrist treated, and the Blue Jays said he had a contusion after X-rays came back negative for a fracture.
Multiple reports from Baltimore, including on the Peacock broadcast, indicated that Sanchez raised his glove toward the right field stands and a fan, reportedly around 12-13 years old, thought Sanchez was trying to play catch with him.
Speaking postgame, Sanchez said through an interpreter that that wasn’t his intention.
“It was a misunderstanding,” he said, wearing a bandage on his wrist. “I wasn’t trying to play catch right there with them, but I just looked at them and they thought maybe that I wanted the, to throw the ball back to me.”
Sanchez had thrown a ball in the stands and is known for tossing balls to fans when he can.
“(He was) talking with a kid, kind of going back and forth, I think in a playful manner, almost like, ‘Hey, let’s play catch,'” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “I think the kid took it literally and hit ‘Sanch’ with the ball. Not ideal. First time I’ve seen that.”
Schneider said Sanchez’s wrist was sore and the team was as surprised as he was.
“Balls shouldn’t be coming into the field of play anywhere,” the manager said.
Sanchez was 1-for-2 before being replaced in right field by Yohendrick Pinango, who hit a three-run homer late in the Jays’ 9-5 loss to the Orioles.
Sanchez, 28, is batting .287 with six homers and 28 RBIs in 57 games. He is in his first season with Toronto after previously playing for the Miami Marlins (2020-24) and Houston Astros (2025).
