Blue Jays Manager John Schneider Disputes Umpires’ Handling of Bizarre Red Sox Run

The Toronto Blue Jays edged out the Boston Red Sox 2-1 on Monday in a game that was filled with confusion in the 7th inning.

Blue Jays Manager John Schneider Disputes Umpires’ Handling of Bizarre Red Sox Run

John Schneider (Image via Toronto Star)

Bizarre is probably the right word to describe what happened during the game between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Boston Red Sox on Monday. Following the game, Blue Jays manager John Schneider was left disputing the umpires’ handling of the situation that led to the opposition’s run.

So what exactly happened? The 2 American League East sides took part in the series opener at Rogers Centre on Monday. The Blue Jays took a 2-0 lead after a home run from Charles McAdoo in the 5th inning and a single from Andres Gimenez in the 6th inning.

The chaos took place in the 7th inning. Anthony Seigler and Connor Wong hit back-to-back singles for the Red Sox and took up the 2nd and 1st bases, respectively.

Nick Sogard then came up to bat and hit a grounder towards Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at first base. The Blue Jays superstar picked up the ball and threw it to second base. Wong was tagged up for the first out of the inning. Seigler advanced to third base while Sogard reached 1st base.

Ceddane Rafaela stepped up to the plate next to bat while having runners on 1st and 3rd base with one out. However, the scoreboard (MLB-controlled) at Rogers Centre incorrectly showed 2 outs.

Rafaela would hit a fly ball to center field. Thinking it was 2 outs as the board showed, the Red Sox players also forgot the total outs in the inning.

The runners took off without tagging. Seigler took from 3rd base without tagging up and reached home plate. Technically, Rafaela was the second out of the inning, so the Blue Jays tagged up Sogard for a double play.

Here is where things get confusing. Before the Blue Jays tagged Sogard for the third out, Seigler had already crossed home plate. The umpires were then involved in talks with John Schneider and Chad Tracy. Umpire crew chief Chris Guccione called it a “time play,” and the conversations headed to the Replay Command Center in New York.

What we have here is we have a time play, meaning when the third out was made at first base with the runner not tagging up, the runner that was on third base also did not tag but crossed home plate before the third out was made at first base. So we’re going to New York to do a rules check.

Chris Guccione told the crowd

Following a delay in play, the Red Sox were awarded the run. As the Blue Jays players had left the field of play, by crossing the third base line after what they believed was the final out, they were unable to appeal Seigler’s failure to retouch the third base.

In the end, the Blue Jays held on to a 2-1 win and took the series opener. What happened on the field was so strange that even the umpires had to double check the rulebook.

John Schneider however, was not pleased with the decision. While the ruling did not have a major impact on the final outcome of the game, those involved with the Blue Jays were unhappy with the way the whole situation was handled.

They told me that all of my players were across the third-base line before (home-plate umpire) Charlie (Ramos) waves off the run, which I 100% disagree with. I don’t know if Vlad is that fast after he got the ball at first. We weren’t given the opportunity to appeal to third.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider said as per MLB.com
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Chad Tracy admitted that his side was fortunate to get the ruling in their favor against Blue Jays

The Boston Red Sox were able to put just one run on the board against the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday. That one run came under bizarre circumstances. After the game, interim manage Chad Tracy admitted his team was fortunate enough to get the ruling on his side.

Chad Tracy
Chad Tracy (Image via MLB)

The incident that took place was a rare one. Everyone on the field was confused about the number of outs that were there. Tracy claimed that it was a weird situation to be in.

Yes, it was a very weird situation where players on both sides appeared to be confused on the outs… I think it’s nothing more than like, fortunately for us.

Chad Tracy told the reporters after the game

So who is to be blamed for this? While the scoreboard error was a huge thing, one would argue that the players need to remember what number of outs are there in an inning.

This loss marked a 3rd straight defeat for the Red Sox. Before this losing run, they had won 9 out of their last 10 games, a resurgence which has seen them right back into the mix for the playoffs.

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