Phillies rally snuffed by infield fly rule
The San Diego leftfielder lost track of the baseball in the afternoon sky, and mayhem - as Padres manager Andy Green called it - began.
The San Diego leftfielder lost track of the baseball in the afternoon sky, and mayhem - as Padres manager Andy Green called it - began.
Darin Ruf's fly ball to shallow left field with no outs and the bases loaded was ruled an infield fly by third base umpire Will Little. The fly was misplayed by shortstop Alexei Ramirez, who had to chase it into the outfield after leftfielder Wil Myers could not see the ball against the clouds.
Ramirez scooped up the ball and threw it to third base. Ruf, per the infield fly rule, was out. And Odubel Herrera was tagged out as he ran from second to third. A run scored, but the double play dealt the Phillies rally a crushing blow.
"Let's put it this way: I didn't like the call, but we have to live with it. We just have to get past it," manager Pete Mackanin said. "We had opportunities after that. That was a big play obviously. Although, like I said, I didn't like the call. It's their judgment."
Little ruled that Ramirez could easily catch the fly ball with ordinary effort. Ramirez backpedaled 12 feet into left field and appeared to be underneath the ball when the umpire made his decision. Crew chief Ted Barrett said Little made the right call. The distance a ball travels into the outfield is not a factor, Barrett said.
Ramirez said through a translator that the situation was a play that "doesn't happen often." Green said he did not see the play.
"I was looking at Wil looking around the whole stadium to see if a fan would tell him where the baseball was," the manager said. "Nobody helped him out. I don't know if that's just Philly fans for you. Wil never picked it up."
Herrera said it was the first time he had seen a play like that. He did not hear the umpire signal that it was an infield fly. His instincts told him to run to third when the ball dropped. Maikel Franco, who ran from first to second, said he did not know what to do.
"If you're on the bases running it's hard - especially when there's 45,000 people - to hear an umpire yell," Ruf said. "You're certainly not looking for him to point. So when you see the ball drop that far into the outfield, your natural instincts are to try to advance."
Mackanin challenged the call, but the umpires were only permitted to review if Herrera was tagged out. The sold-out crowd booed after a lengthy delay ruled that the decision stood. Cameron Rupp, the next batter, struck out after working a 3-0 count. The promising rally was finished.
"You don't see that too often, when the guy is backpedaling," Ryan Howard said. "I guess, as the umpire, you have to make a split-second decision. You try to figure it out."
@matt_breen www.philly.com/philliesblog
