White Sox lose in ninth after failing to challenge a blown call at second
The Chicago White Sox dropped a tough one Friday against the Detroit Tigers, losing on a walkoff single in the ninth inning. While any walkoff loss is demoralizing, this one probably hurts more than usual. That’s because the whole situation could have been prevented.
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With the game tied 1-1, Nick Castellanos led off the inning with a line shot to right fielder Avisail Garcia. Castellanos decided to head for second, drawing a throw from Garcia. The throw beat Castellanos, but he was ruled safe after it was determined shortstop Alexei Ramirez did not apply the tag.
The glove came extremely close to Castellanos’ foot, leading many to believe White Sox manager Robin Ventura would challenge the play. Ventura did come out to argue the play, but said the team’s video crew advised him that Castellanos was safe.
There’s some debate over whether this was the case. While the Chicago feed of the game could not find evidence that Ramirez made the tag, the Tigers’ feed showed clear evidence Ramirez made contact with Castellanos’ foot.
Ventura actually came back out of the dugout to speak with umpires a second time, but could no longer challenge as the play had been ruled dead.
After a sacrifice bunt advanced the runner to third, Jose Iglesias delivered a walkoff single, ending the game.
Following the contest, Ramirez was adamant that he tagged Castellanos.
Ramirez brings up a good point. Given the game situation, Ventura probably should have challenged the play even if he believed Ramirez missed the tag. The play was at least close enough that a mistake could have been made, and the White Sox lost nothing if the challenge didn’t work out in their favor. In this end, his reluctance to act may have cost the team the game.
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The error by Ventura is pretty inexcusable. With the loss, the White Sox drop to 3-6 on the season while Detroit stands at a strong 9-1. While there’s plenty of time for Chicago to make up that deficit, this loss might sting for quite some time.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
