Why Red Sox were awarded run in seventh inning after Blue Jays got three outs

Just when you think you've seen everything baseball has to offer, the sport finds a way to mix in something you've never seen before.

Such was the case in the top of the seventh inning during Monday's game between the Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox at Rogers Centre.

One batter after Nick Sogard lined a ball off Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s glove for a force out at second, Ceddanne Rafaela came to the plate with runners on first and third with one out in the frame.

Rafaela ultimately lofted a fly ball into centre field, but Red Sox baserunners Sogard and Anthony Siegler began to run the bases as if there were two outs, which the scoreboard at Rogers Centre did display before the pitch.

So, once Blue Jays centre-fielder Brett Bateman secured the catch and threw back into the infield, Toronto took the ball to first and doubled off Sogard for what appeared to be the third and seemingly final out of the seventh.

But rather than proceeding to the bottom of the inning, umpires and both coaching staffs engaged in a lengthy discussion that led to the officiating crew going to New York for a rules check.

Crew chief Chris Guccione then returned and announced that, "After calling New York and getting it all straightened out, the run is going to score. End of the inning. Two runs for Toronto, one run for Boston."

So, even though the Blue Jays had recorded three outs, the play enacted Rule 5.09(c)(4), which states:

"Any appeal under this rule must be made before the next pitch, or any play or attempted play. If the violation occurs during a play which ends a half-inning, the appeal must be made before the defensive team leaves the field..."

"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."

The catch in centre constituted the second out, while doubling Sogard off first was an appeal play for the third out. Because Siegler crossed home before Toronto completed its appeal at first, his run counted.

Toronto could still have erased the run by making a second appeal at third base before leaving the field. That appeal would have produced a superseeding “fourth out” and taken precedence over the appeal at first. But because the Blue Jays left the field without appealing that Siegler had departed third early, the run stood.

Guccione later spoke with a pool reporter after the game to further explain the ruling.

"That's a time play, meaning it's not a force play," Guccione said. "If it's a time play, meaning 'Was the out made before the runner crosses home plate?' In this case, being a time play, the runner crossed (home) before the out was made.

"In order for the run not to score, Toronto would have had to make an appeal at third base before the infielders left the infield. Once they left the infield, at that point, the run scores."

However, according to Hazel Mae on the Sportsnet broadcast, veteran Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer said Toronto was arguing that the umpire crew was waving the team off the field and therefore didn't give them a chance to appeal Siegler leaving third early.

"To my knowledge, Boston did not challenge the time play. The inning was deemed to be over. (Home plate umpire) Charlie Ramos waived off the run, so everyone assumed that was that," Blue Jays manager John Schneider said post-game. "So, we can appeal that if we stayed on the field and challenged to third where he didn't tag up, and that would have negated the run. No one was given that opportunity to do so based on the reaction from the four umpires."

"It was just tough because they didn't challenge the play initially. It happened in the middle of an inning, where Jovani Moran is coming in to warm up... After consulting with MLB, (the umpires) told me that all my players were across the third-base line before Charlie waived off the run, which I 100 per cent disagree with. So, we weren't given an opportunity to appeal to third."

Rule 5.09(c)(4) also states:

"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."

Guccione added that the fact that the scoreboard was displaying the wrong number of outs in no way contributed to the call on the field.

"I didn't even know that until an inning later that there was some confusion with the scoreboard," said Guccione. "(The scoreboard) is more of a courtesy. It's up to us on the field to know how many (outs there are) because the count could be wrong.

"That's just kind of a courtesy for the fans and for everybody. It's our responsibility as umpires to understand how many outs there are, the correct count, etc."

It all meant that New York's ruling stood, and the game went to the bottom of the seventh with the Blue Jays' lead cut in half. Toronto, however, held on to its one-run lead in a 2-1 victory.

"I'm glad we didn't lose by one," Schneider said.