Red Sox catch a break by bizarre rule in extra innings, a breakdown

Oct 11, 2021 1.7M views 5:48

What Happened

In Game 4 of the 2021 ALDS at Fenway Park, tied 4-4 in the top of the 13th, Tampa Bay's Kevin Kiermaier drove a 3-2 pitch off Drew Rasmussen deep to right that hit the wall, caromed off Hunter Renfroe, and bounced over the fence. Yandy Diaz was running on the pitch and rounded third headed home, which would have been the go-ahead run. Umpires went to a New York review and ruled it a ground-rule double, sending Diaz back to third and Kiermaier to second under the deflection rule. Tampa stranded the runners, and Boston walked it off in the bottom of the inning on a Christian Vazquez home run over the Green Monster.

Why This Matters

The rule here is the accidental-deflection two-base award. When a batted ball bounces off a fielder over the fence without intent, runners get two bases from where they were at the time of contact, not a home run and not however far they would have advanced. That cost Tampa a near-certain go-ahead run since Diaz scores easily on a clean carom. Kevin Cash didn't argue because he'd been on the other side of it in 2019, when Tommy Pham booted a ball into the stands against the Blue Jays and Cash himself invoked the rule to send a runner back. The aftermath stung Tampa twice: stranded runners in the 13th, then Vazquez ended it next inning. The 100-win Rays, top seed in the AL, went home in four games.

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Key Moments

Who / What Is Involved

Players: Drew Rasmussen, Kiké Hernández. Teams: Red Sox.

Key Terms Mentioned

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baseball reared its ugly head again

yesterday tied up at four apiece in the

top of the 13th inning and before this

pavetta was absolutely dealing

fastball's top of the zone fastball's