LYNCHBURG, Va. (AP) Cleveland minor leaguer Francisco Mejia's hitting streak reached 50 games - more than an hour after the game ended.
Mejia's streak survived when the official scorer changed a ruling on an error from the third inning of Class A Lynchburg's 7-5 loss Saturday night in the Carolina League.
Mejia chopped a grounder down the line, and Winston-Salem third baseman Gerson Montilla missed trying to backhand it for a two-base error. The scorer changed the play to a double hours later after reviewing video and conferring with the teams.
''After reviewing additional data and watching video of the play, the official scorer decided to rule Mejia's batted ball in the third inning a double,'' the Hillcats said in a statement. ''The video review showed that the ball was struck far enough away from the backhand of the third baseman (Montilla) and hit with enough force and topspin to prevent Montilla from making the play with ordinary effort. Based on this, the official scorer changed the error to a hit.''
The 20-year-old switch-hitting catcher was 0 for 4 when he drew a full-count walk with two outs in the ninth and the Hillcats trailing 5-4, apparently ending his streak. Lynchburg lost in 10 innings without Mejia batting again.
Mejia's string is the longest ever in pro ball by a catcher, surpassing Harry Chozen's 49-game streak in the Southern Association in 1954.
The professional hitting streak record is 69 games by Joe Wilhoit of the Western League in 1919.
