If you were left confused as to why the Boston Red Sox were credited with a run after the Blue Jays turned a double play to end the seventh inning on Monday night, you most certainly were not alone.
And what didn’t help was a review that lasted 14 minutes and still left many fans in attendance and at home befuddled.
As a brief recap, here’s what happened at Rogers Centre in the top of the seventh with the Jays holding a 2-0 lead.
With Simeon Woods Richardson on the mound for the Jays, Boston’s Anthony Seigler and Colton Wong opened the inning with a pair of singles.
Nick Sogard then came to the plate and hit a hard liner to Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who threw to second to retire Wong on a fielder’s choice.
However, the Rogers Centre scoreboard erroneously displayed two outs after the play — which led to some mass confusion on the basepaths.
The next batter, Ceddanne Rafaela, hit a pop fly to centre field that was easily caught by Brett Bateman, but both Seigler and Sogard believed that there were two outs and were on the move as soon as Rafaela made contact.
After Bateman made the catch, he threw the ball to second baseman Josh Smith, who then got the ball to Guerrero at first to double off Sogard for the third out.
But it didn’t end there as, after a lengthy 14-minute review, it was ruled that despite the inning being over, the Red Sox would be credited with the run scored by Seigler, who was never ruled out after coming home from third on the play.
The incident went viral on social media, with many chiming in asking what had happened, if the Jays were getting screwed and some more astute rules gurus attempting to explain what went down.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider even seemed perplexed as the umpire crew explained the situation.
What does the MLB rulebook say?
The rule that was applied to the situation is MLB Rule 5.09(c)(4).
As per MLB.com, the rule states that an “appeal plays may require an umpire to recognize an apparent ‘fourth out.’ If the third out is made during a play in which an appeal play is sustained on another runner, the appeal play decision takes precedence in determining the out.
“If there is more than one appeal during a play that ends a half-inning, the defence may elect to take the out that gives it the advantage.
“For the purpose of this rule, the defensive team has ‘left the field’ when the pitcher and all infielders have left fair territory on their way to the bench or Clubhouse.”
Since the Blue Jays had all left the field as the review was conducted, they could no longer appeal for an out at third and the run scored by Siegler counted as he had crossed the plate before the final out was made at first base.
In the end, the Jays were able to hold on for a 2-1 win, but that controversial run certainly made things more interesting than they needed to be.
What did the Blue Jays say?
After the game, Schneider spoke about the play and broke down what the umpires told him.
“The rule is the rule,” he said in his post-game press conference, adding that he disagreed with the assertion that his team had left the field, even joking that “Vlad isn’t that fast.”
“Going forward if this play ever happens again in the next 100 years, if it’s us, we will record the out at third,” Schneider said.