The Baltimore Orioles were in control of the game on Sunday against the Blue Jays. But what was supposed to be an inning-ending double play turned into a controversial call that left many people baffled. During the Orioles-Blue Jays game, the umpire called Ernie Clement safe, but many believed that the Jays’ star had run out of the baseline.

After the game, Orioles pitcher Shane Baz expressed his frustration with the call: “The only reason I’m not going to talk about that play is because I will get fined.”

Gunner Henderson added, “That was a new one for me. That was definitely, I felt like, not a great call.”

The play happened in the sixth inning when Jays catcher Brandon Valenzuela hit a grounder to Gunnar Henderson, and what looked like an easy out turned into a nightmare.

After Henderson fielded the ball, he went to tag Clement, who was running for second. The Jays’ star clearly altered his direction and went out of Henderson’s reach, so Henderson threw it to first.

Henderson expected the umpires to call Clement out for running out of the basepath, but second-base umpire Nic Lentz called him safe, and this allowed the inning to continue.

The Orioles manager, Craig Albernaz, also frustrated with the call, rushed onto the field to argue. He later revealed that the umpires told him that Clement had established a new baseline before Henderson attempted the tag.

And this ruling changed the game for the Orioles.

Before this call, Baltimore was leading 4-1. Had the umpire called it out, the inning would have ended there.

By the end of the inning, the Jays had a 5-4 lead thanks to consecutive RBI hits by Kazuma Okamoto, Andrés Giménez, and Nathan Lukes. Things only got worse for the Orioles in the ninth inning.

On a similar play, infielder Jackson Holliday was called out for leaving the baseline while trying to avoid a tag from Louis Varland. The umpire explained Holliday had deviated by over three feet after the umpire established a tag attempt.

And this was completely different because the umpire considered that Henderson didn’t attempt to Clement, but Varland did.

After the game ended, there were more comments about how the play made sense.

The umpiring crew chief supports the call made against the Orioles

The debate regarding Clement’s path to second base might not end for a few days. After the play, many Orioles fans questioned the ruling, but not Orioles crew chief Hunter Wendelstedt.

In his view, Clement established a legal path before Henderson’s tag attempt began.

Wendelstedt even described Clement’s move as “very gentlemanly” during his postgame explanation. He said Clement moved aside to give Henderson room to complete the play at first.

According to Wendelstedt, Clement had already established his route toward second before Henderson even reached for the tag. That became the foundation of the ruling that kept Clement safe. This gave the Jays a chance to win the game, and they didn’t let it slip.

The explanation centered on MLB Rule 5.09(b)(1), which talks about a runner avoiding tags.

Under the rule, a tag attempt establishes a runner’s basepath. Once that path exists, the runner cannot move more than three feet away on either side. And Lentz made the ruling based on that.

That ruling remains controversial because most such calls are open to interpretation. Henderson had already fielded Brandon Valenzuela’s ground ball when Clement changed direction.

Orioles manager Craig Albernaz questioned the umpiring crew about how Henderson’s effort was not considered a tag attempt. But it wasn’t just the Orioles players who were not happy with this call.

After the game, former Red Sox player Jeff Frye took to X and said, “This is one of the worst calls I have ever seen!!!”

The eye surgery company LASIK even called out the umpires, commenting, “Still offering all major league umps free LASIK.”