VIDEO: Rays, Phillies pitch position players in respective blowouts

The point of no return.

In baseball, that point is reached when a game is so out of hand, the deficit is so insurmountable, that it's not worth burning the bullpen.

It's no longer a rare sight to see a position player on the mound, but on Tuesday it happened twice in two separate games. Three separate position players were allowed to relive their Little League glory days.

In the Baltimore Orioles' record-setting game against the Philadelphia Phillies in which they blasted a franchise record eight homers – two shy of the American League record set by the Toronto Blue Jays in 1987 – they pumped out a 19-3 victory.

With the game spiraling out of hand, Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg sent outfielder Jeff Francoeur to the mound to pitch the seventh and eighth innings of the game.

In two innings of work, Francoeur struck out one batter, while giving up one hit, a homer, while surrendering three walks and two earned runs.

While the veteran was toeing the mound, the Tampa Bay Rays were on the receiving end of their own blowout handed to them by the Washington Nationals, which eventually ended in a 16-4 romp.

Once again, manager Kevin Cash handed the ball to second baseman Jake Elmore, who pitched the eighth inning. Elmore gave up one earned run, a homer to Wilson Ramos on his second pitch of the game.

Coming on to pitch the ninth was shortstop Nick Franklin, who gave up two runs and also surrendered a home run to Ramos.

Following the game, Ramos said his approach was simple when going up against position players on the mound, though it came with some risk.

"If you go back to the dugout with a strikeout, everybody will laugh at you," he said.

(Videos Courtesy: MLB.com)