Going in Opposite Directions

The two Western representatives in the MLB playoffs were headed in opposite directions on Wednesday with one on the verge of elimination and the other one win away from the World Series.

The current world champions are one loss away from elimination with the Red Sox taking a commanding 3–1 game lead in the best of 7 series. And of course the loss Wednesday was not without controversy. Actually there will probably be someone looking to move out of Houston if the Astros don’t come back to take the series. Yup…there was a fan who in his excitement stood up and tried to catch a ball that was in the stands. Hmm…that doesn’t sound wrong but when the umps ruled that instead of a home run the ball resulted in an out, it was a travesty. The ball was in the stands and Mookie Betts was not gonna catch it but the ump ( Joe West) had to step in and hand the victory to Boston.

There’s not much more to say than it was a horrible ruling and I’m sad the umpires had to take over the playoffs and ruin the baseball game.

Needless to say, Boston went on to win the game and move one game away from the World Series.

Springer and Kemp hit home runs for the Astros but the decision was already made by the umps…too bad.

In the National League the players were allowed to decide the game and LA came away with the win. After the 13 inning marathon Tuesday, Wednesday’s 3 1/2 hour game was a cakewalk and Kershaw was dominant.

While Clayton wasn’t unhittable, he held Milwaukee to 3 hits and only a single run over 7 innings. In comparison, the starter for the Brewers only threw 5 pitches. In a trick play, Wade Miley only pitched to Cody Bellinger in the first inning with the idea being that the Dodgers lineup would be setup to deal with a left handed pitcher. Once the first batter was done, Brandon Woodruff came in as a right handed pitcher to throw 5 1/3 innings. The trick worked in the first inning but Woodruff gave up 3 runs over his time on the mound.

RBIs singles by Max Muncy and Yasiel Puig in the 6th were the turning point of the game, putting the Dodgers ahead for good. But once again, the Brewers pitching held the powerful Dodger offense homerless.

Player of the Day: George Springer, HOU – 3–4, 1 R 1 RBI, 1 HR, 1 BB
Pitcher of the Day: Clayton Kershaw, LAD – 7 INN, 3 H, 1 ER, 9 K, 2 BB


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2 Comments on “Going in Opposite Directions

  1. Watching the video it looks like Betts closes his hand – but on closer inspection it closes when it hits the hand of the fan.

    Read some rule interpretations that also show that when the ball is in the stands there is no such thing as player interference (unlike if they reach down below the wall, etc.).

    They either need to clear the first two rows of seats in every stadium or stick to their own rules. Neither fixes that snafu, however.

    • Yeah, I can’t believe they let a situation like that occur in the playoffs and rule that the fan was at fault. If the fan reached into the field, I would understand but there’s nothing that says the fans need to get out of the way of a player who enters the stands.