Baltimore Orioles manager Brandon Hyde Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Watch: Pirates, Orioles play bottom of 9th inning without umpires

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 2/28/23

Members of the Baltimore Orioles and Pittsburgh Pirates didn't have to worry about umpires making any bad calls as the clubs played to their own finish of Tuesday's spring training game.

As mentioned by the Associated Press and Eric Mullin of NBC Sports Chicago, the Orioles and Pirates completed the bottom of the ninth inning of Tuesday's game without any umpires on the field. Pittsburgh, serving as the home team, clinched a 7-4 victory by recording the final out of the top half of the frame, but Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde apparently wanted right-hander Ofreidy Gómez to face live batters.

Pirates skipper Derek Shelton obliged as the commentators joked that the umpires left the ballpark early because they had "dinner reservations."

pic.twitter.com/uU4l6WZPHi
— Melo Trimble (@MeloTrimbleStan) February 28, 2023

Orioles catcher Maverick Handley called unofficial balls and strikes as Gómez worked without the pitch clock that's become a major talking point of spring training contests. One Pittsburgh batter reached base before Baltimore recorded a third and final fake out:

A bottom of the ninth between the Pirates and Orioles with one twist, no umpires! pic.twitter.com/hYCKthu6vm
— Mr Matthew CFB (@MrMatthewCFB) February 28, 2023

Managers routinely agree to shorten spring training affairs for one reason or another, such as if the game is tied after nine innings, to help prevent injuries. As Jack Baer noted for Yahoo Sports, Hyde addressed Tuesday's unusual circumstances after the defeat:

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said “we were told by the league we could play it by the umpires and pitch the bottom half of the ninth inning, and I guess [umpire] Chad Fairchild felt like we couldn’t.”

The catcher called the last half inning. “A little back field action.” https://t.co/Rdv3yqmYP5
— Andy Kostka (@afkostka) February 28, 2023

If nothing else, at least this game didn't end in a soccer-like draw due to a pitch clock violation. For what it's worth, so-called "robot umps" probably wouldn't leave even an exhibition matchup early to grab a bite to eat in either Florida or Arizona on a sunny February afternoon.

More must-reads: