The Walk Off: Phillies hold on after old-school collision at home
Welcome to The Walk Off, the nightly MLB recap from Big League Stew. Here we’ll look at the top performers of the night, show you a must-see highlight and rundown the scoreboard. First, we start with a game you need to know about.
It’s been awhile since we’ve seen an old-school collision at home plate in Major League Baseball. That’s because the league took steps toward limiting them by instituting a new rule back in 2014.
Rest assured though, they haven’t been completely eliminated. That was evidenced by the wild conclusion to Saturday’s Reds-Phillies game.
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In the ninth inning, Cincinnati’s Eugenio Suarez decided to challenge the arm of Phillies left fielder Tyler Goeddel on a medium fly ball and ultimately lost, which resulted in the final out and a 4-3 Phillies win.
But not so fast.
The issue was, the throw also forced catcher Cameron Rupp into Suarez’s path, which resulted in a collision. The play was reviewed under the guideline of Rule 7.13, which states the following:
“Unless the catcher is in possession of the ball, the catcher cannot block the pathway of the runner as he is attempting to score. If, in the judgment of the Umpire, the catcher without possession of the ball blocks the pathway of the runner, the Umpire shall call or signal the runner safe. Notwithstanding the above, it shall not be considered a violation of this Rule 7.13 if the catcher blocks the pathway of the runner in order to field a throw, and the Umpire determines that the catcher could not have fielded the ball without blocking the pathway of the runner and that contact with the runner was unavoidable.“
The call was ultimately upheld and we’ve highlighted the reason why in the above text. Though it was close, Rupp only moved into the path when fielding the throw. There was no violation on his end, but he’s no doubt feeling the impact.
Honestly, it was a little strange seeing a game end on a play like this. It had been awhile, but the most important thing is the umpire’s got it right.
TOP PERFORMERS
Jake Arrieta: The Cubs improved to 5-0 against the Pirates, defeating them 8-2 at Wrigley Field. The Cubs have scored at least six runs in all five matchups, and have won each by at least four runs. Saturday’s big win was highlighted by Jake Arrieta, who picked up his seventh win by limiting Pittsburgh to two runs over eight innings. He also continued this amazing streak.
Yankees bullpen: Everything lined up as Brian Cashman and Joe Girardi imagined on Saturday. With the Yankees holding a one-run lead, they turned to Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman to lock down the final 10 outs to finish off a 2-1 win against the White Sox. New York’s big three struck out eight while allowing just one baserunner.
[Elsewhere: Army softball player scores the most determined run of the season]
Matt Andriese: The pitching-rich Rays have another good one in Andriese. Making his second start this season, the 26-year-old right-hander shutout the A’s on just two hits. That comes on the heels of a seven-inning, one-run performance against the Angels. He’s off to a good start, and the Rays inched closer to .500 with a 6-0 win.
Jonathan Schoop: Baltimore’s second baseman homered twice, including an eighth-inning grand slam, as the Orioles dismantled the Tigers, 9-3. The Orioles have now won seven straight for the second time already this season. That’s pretty amazing considering they only had two seven-game winning streaks between 2000 and 2015.
MUST-SEE HIGHLIGHT
Please don’t retire, David Ortiz. We want more moments like this one. Ortiz delivered a walk-off double in the Red Sox 6-5, 11-inning win against the Astros on Saturday.. The double was the 600th of his career, which puts him in elite company.
THE REST OF THE SCOREBOARD
(Game 1) Nationals 6, Marlins 4: Stephen Strasburg improved to 6-0 by pitching six innings of three-run ball. All six of Strasburg’s wins have been quality starts.
(Game 2) Marlins 7, Nationals 1: Bryce Harper dropped his appeal to sit out the nightcap. Washington could have used him as Miami scored seven against Tanner Roark.
Twins 6, Indians 3: Catcher Juan Centeno smacked his first career home run to help Minnesota snap an eight-game losing streak.
Braves 5, Royals 0: The defending World Series champions still can’t get any momentum going despite a gimme weekend series at Kauffman Stadium.
Rangers 6, Blue Jays 5 (10 innings): Toronto scored three in the ninth on home runs from Justin Smoak and Troy Tulowitzki, but Texas got the final word on Drew Stubbs’ walk-off homer.
Rockies 7, Mets 4: Colorado gets back to .500 (18-18) thanks to a five-run third-inning.
Giants 5, Diamondbacks 3: Denard Span reached base five times and scored twice to pace San Francisco’s offense.
Dodgers 5, Cardinals 3: It was nearly a complete game for Scott Kazmir. He ran out of gas after 8 2/3 innings, but picked up his third win by allowing three runs and striking out seven.
Padres 8, Brewers 7 (12 innings): San Diego got back-to-back home runs from Derek Norris and Melvin Upton Jr. in the 12th inning.
Angels 9, Mariners 7: After Seattle scored five in the eighth to take the lead, Albert Pujols responded with a three-run go-ahead blast that held up as the winner in the ninth.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
