Mets miss out on double play after unusual ruling vs. Dodgers

You never know what you might see for the first time when you head down to the ballpark.

In Friday's marquee matchup between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Mets, fans were once again reminded of just that.

With one out in the top of the third, the Mets looked to turn a whacky inning-ending double play, when an unusual technicality ruled against their challenge.

A Mookie Betts fly ball into the outfield bounced off both of centre fielder Tyrone Taylor and right fielder Juan Soto's glove when they collided in an attempt to make the catch.

Taylor recovered to make an impressive bobbling grab and fired the ball toward second base, where they thought Dodgers runner Michael Conforto left early for third before the ball was fully secured.

Shohei Ohtani also tagged up before the completed catch and ended up at second base.

Upon review, the umpires determined that the two Dodgers had in fact left on the initial touch before the catch was made — but apparently that's legal.

According to rule 5.09(a)(1) in MLB's rule book, "A catch is legal if the ball is finally held by any fielder, even though juggled, or held by another fielder before it touches the ground. Runners may leave their bases the instant the first fielder touches the ball."

The Mets lost their challenge, and the Dodgers still had their runners in scoring position, as the game fell into a rain delay the following plate appearance.

Former MLB umpire Brian Gorman said on the Apple TV broadcast via Zoom, "The reason behind the touch ... is that an outfielder (could) actually juggle the ball all the way in and (prevent) the (runner) from advancing. Soon as the ball hits the glove, he can take off."

After the game resumed, the Dodgers were able to cash in both Ohtani and Conforto as part of a three-run inning.