Diamondbacks' three-run home run turned into a two-run single thanks to baserunning blunder

On Saturday night, the red-hot Arizona Diamondbacks continued their excellent start to the season with a win at Dodger Stadium (ARI 9, LAD 1). The D-Backs are 11-3 in the early going and hold a four-game lead in the NL West.

Because they won Saturday's game, infielder Deven Marrero and his D-Backs teammates can laugh at their silly baserunning mistake. Marrero clubbed a three-run home run in the fourth inning, but because he passed Alex Avila on the bases, he was called out. Avila had retreated to first base thinking the ball would be caught at the wall.

The three-run homer became a two-run single. Here's video of the play, which was reviewed to confirm Marrero did indeed pass Avila on the bases:

"What we try to do is be very aggressive on tagging up, especially on deep fly balls," said Avila to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic following the game. "That was a terrible read on my part and probably one of the more embarrassing things I've done on the field."  

D-Backs first base coach Dave McKay would let neither Marrero nor Avila accept responsibility for the baserunning gaffe. McKay took the blame. From Piecoro:

"I was talking to (Avila) and left Deven alone and let Deven pass me," McKay said. "I've got to stop the baserunner (Marrero). That's the way it works. I've got to stop the baserunner from running past (Avila).

"He's probably going to take the blame for it, but that's my fault. My fault. The coach's fault. I've been doing it for over 30 years. I've stopped a thousand of them and just got caught up. The last minute, here he came, I got to stop the baserunner."

Believe it or not, the last time a player lost a home run because he passed the lead runner on the bases was fairly recent. Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto lost a home run when he passed Marcell Ozuna at first base on a similar play in May 2016.

Marrero has five career home runs in 279 big league plate appearances. Saturday's blast would've been his first of the season and his first as a D-Back after coming over in a spring trade with the Red Sox.