The extended baseball family lost two bright talents Sunday when news emerged that Kansas City Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura and former MLB player Andy Marte were killed in unrelated car accidents in the Dominican Republic.
In an odd coincidence between the two players, Ventura was the starting pitcher in Marte's final MLB game on Aug. 6 2014, when the infielder was a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The two didn't face each other in the contest, however.
After allowing just two earned runs while striking out eight batters, Ventura was lifted in the seventh for a pinch hitter before being replaced on the mound by Kelvin Herrera:
(Video courtesy: MLB.com)
Later in the ninth inning and with one out remaining, the Diamondbacks elected to call on Marte as a pinch hitter for reliever Oliver Perez, though he struck out in the at-bat, awarding the Royals the 4-3 win.
A day after the matchup, the Diamondbacks designated Marte for assignment. After electing to enter free agency, he played the next two seasons for KT Wiz in the Korean Baseball Organization.
