ANAHEIM, Calif. — An infield fly and an interference call loomed large in a game for the second time in less than a week.
This time it was the New York Yankees and Juan Soto.
The Yankees had the bases loaded with no outs in the first inning Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Angels when they were defeated by an unconventional double play.
Despite the strange start to the game, the Yankees were able to rally and win 2-1.
“It's a tough way to start things when you load the bases in the first inning and have a good pitcher on the ropes. But by the letter of the law, it was probably the right call,” said New York manager Aaron Boone. , who was expelled.
Giancarlo Stanton hit a high fly near the bag at second. The umpires called a fly ball into the infield, but Soto bumped his hip into Angels shortstop Zach Neto while trying to return to second base, causing Neto to lose track of the ball and it landed in the infield.
Second base umpire Vic Carapazza ruled that Soto interfered with Neto, resulting in the second out.
“Obviously, a clumsy play. Once Juan commits to getting there and tries to stay out of the way, if Neto catches him, he could trap him in the pocket for a double play. It's like, 'Where are you going?' “Boone said.
Carapazza said in a group report after the game that in his opinion Soto did not intentionally make contact with Neto to interfere, but Soto was not standing on the base, which is the only time the runner is protected.
“I had him interfere with the infielder and called the infield fly first, and now the batter is out. The interference after that was the second out,” Carapazza said.
Neto also agreed that Soto was not trying to interfere. It was just a bad time.
“I had no intention of getting in his way or him getting in mine, the play just happened and I was trying to catch the ball,” Neto said. “He just stayed a little bit behind me. The umpire said every major league shortstop catches that ball. I was trying to catch it and he happened to be there.”
Boone came out to argue the decision and was ejected by Carapazza. It was Boone's third ejection of the season and the 36th of his career.
Tyler Anderson and the Angels got out of the inning unscathed when Alex Verdugo grounded out.
Bench coach Brad Ausmus, who coached the Angels in 2019, took over after Boone was forced out.
Last Thursday in Chicago, umpires ruled that White Sox designated runner Andrew Vaughn interfered with Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson on Andrew Benintendi's fly ball, ending the game, won by Baltimore 8-6 .
MLB said after that game that there is some discretion not to call interference, but Carapazza said that doesn't apply here.
“First I called the infield fly rule, that now the batter is out. That was not the case on that [White Sox-Orioles] play. It's a little different,” Carapazza said.
Boone, like White Sox manager Pedro Grifol, hopes MLB can provide even more clarity on interference plays.
“I mean, the sequence matters. But I hope we can revisit it a little bit,” Boone said. “Juan is in danger of being doubled, and if he doesn't get there and you don't get him back exactly the right way, he's going to be stuck with Neto, probably misjudging a little bit. But what are you doing as a runner there?”
