MLB has no dearth of controversial umpiring, but in a few cases, the decisions change the game results. Something similar happened during the Marlins-Phillies game on Monday. The Marlins were trailing 4-1 in the seventh inning with runners in scoring position. Javier Sanoja hit a ball down the left-field line that was originally called foul. The call was later overturned, but it denied the Marlins a run from third base to home plate. Manager Clayton McCullough hit the field only to get tossed, leaving even the broadcasters frustrated.
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“The umpires are gonna have to determine. And that is a fair ball. That’s a fair ball. Here we go. Call is overturned. Two runs scored, one awful third. That’s awful. That’s terrible,” Foul Territory shared Marlins’ broadcasters’ frustration at the seventh inning.
The drama unfolded in the seventh inning with the Phillies’ reliever Jonathan Bowlan on the mound. Sanoja was at the batter’s box with all bases loaded. He hit a ball that looked like a foul. First-base umpire Shane Livensparger called it foul, but his call was overturned upon review. Replay showed the ball touched the foul line before going beyond. However, the delay cost the Marlins a run.
While Xavier Edwards and Agustín Ramírez scored, Otto Lopez remained stranded at third because of the foul call. If he had completed his run, the game would have tied 4-4. Enough for McCullough to fight it out with the umpires.
“I can’t go argue a play that went to New York, but my only point was that with two outs, the size of the lead that Otto is going to have at first, not being held and going on contact where that ball was going to end up,” McCullough told reporters postgame. “I think that he was going to score anyway. Just a little bit more frustration that you see that your call is going to get overturned and what maybe could have been.”
McCullough was eventually ejected from the game, and the night ended with the Phillies winning it 6-5. That one-run margin proved costly for the Marlins. And all of these reminded us of another controversial call during a 2011 game between the same teams.
Hunter Pence hit a ball to right field where a fan wearing a Phillies cap reached over the railing. Initially ruled a live-ball double, upon a video review – early in MLB’s review era – the play was overturned to an out due to fan interference, causing massive confusion. Both managers complained.
The then-Phils’ skipper Charlie Manuel wanted the play ruled a home run, and the Marlins’ Jack McKeon wanted Pence called out. Manuel argued the decision against Pence and was ejected from the game. Philadelphia ultimately lost the game to the then-Florida Marlins 5-4. There’s also a fun fact hidden in this whole incident.
The fan was later identified as Alex Dicandio, who reacted to the call and said, “It should have been a home run.”
“It was frustrating to see a situation like that,” Sanoja exclaimed after Monday’s game. “As division rivals, we understand the value of this game, and just seeing the game [affected] by a situation like that is truly disappointing.”
Monday was just another reminder for the batters to complete their run despite a foul call, considering a provision for a review is there.