If the pitch isn't going to count anyway, might as well have a fan get a souvenir out of it.

That's the approach Tigers lefty Tyler Alexander took -- well, "took" probably isn't the right word -- when the Twins' Willians Astudillo called a late timeout during his at-bat in the bottom of the second Tuesday night at Target Field.

All pitchers know, if the batter calls timeout when you've already started your delivery to the plate, complete the pitch just to make sure you avoid a potential injury. And in Alexander's case, that also meant launching the pitch so high it sailed over the netting behind home plate and into the seats, where a fan was overjoyed to wind up with an unexpected gift.

We also wonder, if time hadn't been called, would Astudillo have considered taking a swing at it?