The baseball towered in the ink-black sky for seven seconds, a relative eternity in a seemingly endless game, long enough to deceive an outfielder, confuse a runner at first base and pause the man who powered the ball’s flight in the second inning of a 15-7 Royals victory.
The defender, Tigers left fielder Tyler Collins, drifted toward Kauffman Stadium’s fence at a languid pace, as if the ball would land in his glove at any moment. The runner, Ben Zobrist, watched the ball’s descent and returned to the bag to tag up. And the batter, Lorenzo Cain, idled along the first-base line, careful to not overrun Zobrist, but still as surprised when his three-run homer cleared the 387-foot sign in left and exited the field of play.