ATLANTA -- Chase d'Arnaud was caught off-guard when he received light-hearted messages from friends and some female fans who had seen him seemingly peck a male fan on the neck or cheek as he pursued a foul ball during Thursday night's 7-5 loss to the Phillies at Turner Field.
Initially, d'Arnaud simply remembered the play in the fourth inning as one during which a male fan reached into foul territory along the left-field line and caught a fly ball hit by Cody Asche, who was incensed when he was ruled out because of fan interference.
Though he slowed his pursuit from left field, d'Arnaud still ended up momentarily face-to-face with the fan. Everything about the play seemed rather innocent until some media outlets and fans on social media noticed that it appeared d'Arnaud kissed the bearded fan on the left cheek.
d'Arnaud simply remembers that his momentum carried him to the point where his face just happened to make contact with the man's beard.
"I really didn't think anything about it until I got home and got messages from friends who were laughing about it," d'Arnaud said with a smile. "I got some messages from some women on social media who said things like, 'Can you save a kiss for me?'
"I really wasn't trying to do anything but go after the ball. and then all of a sudden, I remember feeling the bushy beard. But when you slow the video down, I do see how it looks like I [kissed] the guy on the cheek. It's all in good fun, but I really wasn't trying to do anything there."