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Fly ball hits Travis Snider's face in fair ground even as he slides foul

A player is not necessarily in foul territory just because his feet take him there. That's what happened Monday night to Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Travis Snider, whose unsuccessful bid in the fourth inning to catch a fly ball by Todd Frazier of the Reds ended with Snider on his behind in foul ground smarting from having the ball hit off his face. Worse for him, after a video review, umpires at replay headquarters reversed the call on the field — which had been foul. Instead, they awarded Frazier a double. A ground-face double of sorts.

That play was resolved, but not the game's outcome. The teams are tied 7-all in the bottom of the sixth inning, and the game will be completed Tuesday night before the next game of the series.

Via MLB.com, Reds manager Bryan Price said the injury time allotted for athletic trainers to check Snider gave his team time to check the replay and ask for a review.

Manager Bryan Price requested a challenge from crew chief Gerry Davis, saying Snider's face was in fair territory.

"That was an interesting thing," Price explained. "The ball was down the line, and we can't see him there. As soon as it happens, Homer [Bailey, Reds starter] popped his head up and said, 'You guys might want to take a look at that.' Of course, we're figuring they're rushing out there to check on the outfielder, so we're going to have all sorts of time."

The challenge took 2 minutes, 30 seconds. Officials saw that Snider's feet and about half of his entire body had slid across the foul line by the time the ball hit — but his face was still fair game, so to speak. Fair face, fair ball. Theoretically, if Snider catches the ball, it's probably an out in fair territory. Or, if bounces off his glove, it's a live ball and Frazier is free to try as many bases as he can. Probably. Snider's glove was a lot closer to the line than his face.

Frazier came around to score on a two-run home run by Ryan Ludwick. The Reds have four homers, and the Pirates six, so far.

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David Brown edits Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rdbrown@yahoo-inc.com and follow him on Twitter!

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