MLB announcer apologizes for on-air mistake

Twins announcer Cory Provus took to social media after mistakenly hyping up a Royce Lewis flyout as if it were a game-winning home run.

Cory Provus unintentionally pulled a Dick Bremer in the Minnesota Twins broadcast booth Thursday.

Just a mere couple of minutes after calling a game-tying three-run home run off the bat of Jose Mirada, Provus was fooled by one hit by Royce Lewis. For a mere couple of seconds there, the Twins play-by-play voice was under the impression that Lewis had walked off the Tampa Bay Rays for an improbable 7-6 victory.

But the ball stayed in the ballpark.

And while the game went into extra innings, Provus acknowledged his error.

To be fair to Provus, it truly wasn’t that egregious of a call. With the way Lewis has been playing since being reinstated from the injured list, just about everything the 25-year-old third baseman is hitting is leaving the ballpark. In Wednesday’s loss to Tampa Bay, Lewis broke the scoreboard, and just a few hours prior to the game being knotted at 6-all in the ninth inning, Lewis hit his ninth home run in 15 games this season.

It was also his 30th home run in 91 total games in a Twins uniform, including the playoffs. So, what’s one more? It was naturally plausible that this would be another multi-home run game for Lewis, especially with two home runs from Miranda and Carlos Santana flying out of Target Field in the same inning.

But it wasn’t meant to be, as the ball died just shy of the warning track.

“A swing and a drive, left-center, in the ballpark — just shy of the track,” said Provus. “And (Jonny) DeLuca makes the play, and we play on.”

The Twins did play on and would lose 7-6 in extra innings.

Hopefully, Provus, who had an elite call for Miranda’s home run, isn’t too hard on himself. It happens to the best of the league’s announcers. And even then, it’s understandable considering the context of how hard the ball was hit, how far it went (94.5 mph, 360 feet), and who was up at the plate.

It would’ve made for a Cinderella Story. But, hey, baseball can be cruel.

[Awful Announcing, Cory Provus]