CLEVELAND — Rookies are prone to mistakes. Cooper Ingle made a big one he may never forget.
Cleveland’s left fielder lost track of the number of outs in the seventh inning and threw the ball into the stands, allowing the Texas Rangers to score the go-ahead run in a 4-2 victory over the Guardians.
“Obviously, I feel terrible,” Ingle said, his face flushed red on a warm, humid night. “It’s a pretty embarrassing feeling.”
With a runner at second base and one out in the seventh, the 24-year-old Ingle, making just his second major league start as an outfielder, caught a routine fly ball hit by Rangers left fielder Alejandro Osuna off Cleveland starter Tanner Bibee for the second out.
Thinking it was out No. 3, Ingle briefly glanced at the ball in his glove before throwing it over the protective netting to fans as a souvenir.
The umpires immediately ruled the ball was dead and Osuna was awarded home plate.
It wasn’t until then that Ingle realized his mistake and he walked back to his position in shocked disbelief. He was charged with an error.
“Yeah, honestly when I threw the ball out, I heard a bunch of yelling,” Ingle said. “Happens sometimes, but just got to learn from it and not make the same mistake.”
Guardians manager Stephen Vogt, who has had to plug rookies into his starting lineup all season, offered his unwavering support to Ingle.
“These things happen,” Vogt said. “Rookie. Nonrookie. It’s happened to Hall of Famers. They’ve done it. We’re going to keep learning. We’re going to keep getting better.”
Vogt was proud of the way Ingle’s teammates quickly rallied around him following the bone-headed play.
“It’s a mistake. Lost track of the outs. Pretty big spot,” he said. “We’ll learn from it and can’t control it once it happens. That’s why I was like, flush it. And I just want to give a credit to the dugout. Every one of his teammates, when he came back in, same messaging.”
One of the first to talk to Ingle was Guardians catcher Austin Hedges, who told him to keep his chin up.
“I’ve made so many mistakes,” Hedges said. “I can’t even remember half of them. I’ve embarrassed myself a billion times on the field. I mean, just check my offensive numbers for my career. It’s not super easy to go through that, but that’s the big leagues.”
After his mistake, Ingle said he immediately apologized to Bibee (2-9), who went toe to toe Jacob deGrom for seven innings. Bibee’s response to his teammates was to try and make things right.
“I just told him to go tie the game right back up,” Bibee said. “Obviously, we all make mistakes. Everyone in this locker room has made multiple mistakes in the big leagues, whether you’re (rookie) Khalil (Waston) or me or Hedgie. It’s tough.”
Ingle was brought up from Triple-A Columbus. He made his big league debut on June 26 and got his first major league hit the next day, a two-run single against Seattle.
After his fielding foible, Ingle came up in the bottom of the seventh and grounded out. He got another chance in the ninth to avenge his gaffe but struck out looking for the game’s final out.
What’s most important now is that he move forward.
“Obviously learn from it and think about it,” he said. “It’s not something that makes you feel great, but things like that happen for a reason and learning from those things and moving on and getting better from them, it’s pretty much the only thing you can do.”
Vogt said the mistake doesn’t affect his belief in Ingle.
“We’re going to help him through it. That’s what we’re here for,” he said. “You’re playing in your second game in the outfield in the big leagues and a mistake like that. Let’s learn. So what? It’s over. Flush it. We’re not going to be mad at him.
“We’re not going to hold it against him. He’s going to be right back out there the next time it’s his turn to play outfield. This was a mistake. This isn’t a judgment or anything like that, but we know how good of a player Coop is and we’re going to stick with him and we’re going to keep helping him.”
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