A power outage in the broadcasting truck at Comerica Park wreaked havoc on the television broadcast of the game between the Toronto Blue Jays and Detroit Tigers on Thursday night.
Both teams' broadcasters were forced to call the game off their phones and there was only one camera angle available because of the technical issue.
Tigers and Blue Jays are battling through technical difficulties from a power outage as they broadcast tonight's game pic.twitter.com/vucELW0YTT
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 23, 2024
Blue Jays infielder Isiah-Kiner Falefa hit a home run to open the scoring in the top of the third inning, which was unintentionally spoiled a few seconds early by Blue Jays broadcaster Dan Shulman as the video and audio didn't sync up.
Replay reviews were also unavailable as a result of the power outage, so neither team could challenge any plays using instant replay until the issue was resolved.
"Should broadcast capabilities return, each club will be afforded its normal manager’s challenge, but will have unlimited crew chief reviews for the remainder of the game," MLB told both teams, per The Associated Press.
Things finally settled down and the broadcast returned with normal audio levels in the sixth inning.
The Blue Jays went on to defeat the Tigers 9-1. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit his first home run since May 5, blasting a two-run shot in the top of the ninth inning.
Blue Jays outfielder Daulton Varsho believes the temporary absence of certain technology, including dugout iPads, may have benefited the team.
"I think it helped us," Varsho said, according to MLB Network's Jon Morosi. "It goes back to old-school baseball."
