TV replays showed the man falling head-first and landing behind a 14-foot-high wall supporting a video board for replays and scores. Shannon Stone, a 39-year-old firefighter from Brownwood, died at a hospital Thursday night, the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office said. Stone was a lieutenant and had been with the Brownwood Fire Department nearly 18 years, said City Manager Bobby Rountree. Brownwood is about 150 miles southwest of Arlington. Stone was at the game with his young son, who watched as his dad tumbled over the outfield railing after catching the ball.
Arlington Fire Department officials said Stone, who witnesses said was conscious after the fall, “went into full arrest” while being transported by ambulance. He was pronounced dead at a Fort Worth hospital less than an hour after he fell.
The accident occurred in the second inning after Oakland’s Conor Jackson hit a foul ball that ricocheted into left field. Josh Hamilton retrieved the ball and tossed it into the stands. Replays on Oakland’s television broadcast show the man reaching for the ball and apparently catching it before tumbling.
The Rangers said he fell about 20 feet.
Rangers president Nolan Ryan said the team was “deeply saddened” to learn that the man “has passed away as a result of this tragic accident.”
Rays 5 Yankees 1: In New York, Jeff Niemann gave up Derek Jeter’s 2,998th hit but little else, B.J. Upton homered, and Tampa Bay got off to a strong start in the opener of a long stretch of games against its biggest division rivals.
Ben Zobrist homered, tripled and singled for Tampa Bay, which tagged Bartolo Colon (6-4) early in one of the worst outings of his surprising comeback season. The Rays won the first of 11 straight games against New York and Boston, the two teams they trail in the AL East.
Jeter is trying to become the 28th major leaguer — and first with the Yankees — to reach 3,000 hits, one of baseball’s biggest milestones.
Indians 5 Blue Jays 4: In Cleveland, Travis Hafner hit a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning to cap the Cleveland’s five-run rally.
Hafner hit the first pitch from Luis Perez (1-2) deep into the right-field seats for Cleveland’s second game-ending slam of the season. Carlos Santana also did it to beat Detroit 9-5 on April 29.
Hafner’s 12th career slam made a winner of Tony Sipp (4-1), who yielded Jose Bautista’s 29th homer in the eighth to give Toronto what seemed like a comfortable 4-0 lead.
But Frank Francisco loaded the bases without getting an out. Perez came on and struck out Michael Brantley before Asdrubal Cabrera lined an RBI single to left, setting the stage for Hafner.
Red Sox 10 Orioles 4: In Boston, Dustin Pedroia hit a three-run shot and Boston added three consecutive home runs in the seventh.
Six different Boston players homered, including three straight by David Ortiz , Josh Reddick and Jarrod Saltalamacchia that helped the Red Sox blow open the game.
Jacoby Ellsbury added a two-run homer and Adrian Gonzalez had a solo drive for Boston, which moved a half-game up on the Yankees with New York’s loss at home to Tampa.
Twins 6 White Sox 2: In Chicago, Joe Mauer had three hits, drove in two runs and was flawless in his first game at first base, leading Minnesota to the victory.
Mauer, the 2009 AL MVP, had started 714 games in the major leagues in the field, all at catcher. He last played first base in 2002 in Class A.
Ben Revere also had three hits and two RBIs for the Twins, who beat Chicago for the eighth straight time.
Angels 5 Mariners 1: In Anaheim, California, Jered Weaver pitched a six-hitter for his 11th victory, and fellow All-Star selection Howie Kendrick extended his hitting streak to 16 games with a run-scoring double in the Angels’ 11th win in 14 games.
Weaver (11-4) tuned up for a possible start in the All-Star game with his eighth career complete game and his fifth straight victory during a nine-game streak without a loss.
Bobby Abreu and Vernon Wells also drove in runs during a three-run third inning for the Angels against hard-luck Seattle starter Doug Fister (3-10), who yielded seven hits over six innings in his seventh straight winless start.
Tigers 3 Royals 1: In Kansas City, Missouri, Max Scherzer pitched into the seventh inning and Ryan Raburn hit a two-run homer to lead Detroit to the victory.
Scherzer (10-4) scattered four hits over the first six innings before a pair of singles put runners on first and second with two outs in the seventh. Phil Coke sprinted in from the bullpen to protect a 2-1 lead and promptly retired Mike Moustakas on a fly ball to center field to end the threat.
Jose Valverde made the ninth inning an adventure, giving up a two-out walk to Eric Hosmer and an infield single to Jeff Francoeur.
