Sports quirks: Basepath chaos, donkey gift, sunken earring

It was less like baseball and more like archery practice. And wherever Stephen Piscotty went he had a bull's-eye on him.

In a bruising, battering tour around the bases , the St. Louis Cardinals outfielder could not stay out of harm's way. He was hit three times in one inning, as if being tracked by a GPS.

The pounding sequence began in the fifth when he was struck on the right arm by Chicago Cubs ace Jake Arietta. Piscotty shook it off and headed to first. It was only beginning. The ball soon got away from the catcher and Piscotty bolted for second, hit on his left arm by Wilson Contreras' throw.

Then came a slow roller to second base that Kolten Wong overran. Piscotty rounded third and broke for home.