Chris Perez picked up his 20th save of the season on Sunday as Cleveland closed out its weekend in St. Louis with a 4-1 win over the Cardinals, but it was the closer's public purging on the mound immediately following the final out that stole the show.
After retiring the side in the ninth, catcher Carlos Santana attempted to congratulate Perez, when the closer unexpectedly vomited on the field. Perez seemed to actually smile before falling to one knee and losing his lunch, suggesting he wasn't as ill as he looked. If it was just a moment of overexertion then tennis player Richard Gasquet can relate.
Oddly enough, this isn't the first time Perez succumbed to the same symptom during a ballgame.
"If you remember, a couple years ago in spring training it was the same situation. So I need to stay away from warm water," Perez told The Associated Press. "I drank some warm water and I ran out there and it just didn't settle well. What am I going to do, call timeout and run into the dugout?"
Perez, who has been very reliable for the Tribe in save situations, recorded 36 saves for Cleveland in 2011 while appearing in 64 games. He already has a Major League-leading 20 saves in just 26 games played this year.