A high-stakes rules dispute during the seventh inning of Monday night’s series opener at MLB resulted in the Boston Red Sox being awarded a run despite an apparent inning-ending double play. The confusion, which caused a 15-minute delay, centered on a misunderstanding of the number of outs and the specific requirements for defensive appeals under MLB rules.
Red Sox Awarded Run in Bizarre Fourth Out Rules Dispute
The Play in Question
The incident occurred during the top of the seventh inning with Red Sox runners on first and second. The stadium scoreboard incorrectly displayed two outs, a detail that influenced the baserunners’ actions. Ceddanne Rafaela hit a fly ball to center fielder Brett Bateman, who made the catch. Anthony Seigler tagged up from third base and crossed home plate, while Nick Sogard, believing there were two outs, ran toward second base.
Bateman threw the ball to Josh Smith, who relayed it to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at first base to double off Sogard. Following this sequence, the Blue Jays left the field, believing the inning had concluded with no runs scored.
Rule 5.09(c)(4) and the ‘Fourth Out’
Umpires held extensive meetings with Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy and Blue Jays manager John Schneider to untangle the sequence. Crew chief Guccione eventually announced that the run would count, citing Rule 5.09(c)(4).
However, the umpires ruled that the Blue Jays had lost their opportunity to make that specific appeal because their fielders had already crossed the third-base line, effectively ending the period during which an appeal could be registered. By appealing only to first base, the Blue Jays’ action was insufficient to negate the run that had already scored. This scenario is colloquially referred to in baseball as a “fourth out” situation, where a defensive team must correctly identify which baserunning infraction to appeal to keep a run off the board.
Managerial Frustration
The ruling drew sharp criticism from the Toronto dugout. Manager John Schneider expressed his disagreement with the officiating crew’s assessment of his players’ positions on the field.
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,
Schneider said. He noted that his team was not given the opportunity to appeal the play at third base, which would have been the necessary step to prevent the run from scoring.
Third baseman Charles McAdoo admitted after the game that he realized the error only after returning to the dugout. It didn't cross my mind until I walked into the dugout, remembering that the timing play exists,
McAdoo told Sportsnet. And that was a situation where it came into play.
Outcome of the Series Opener
Despite the unprecedented nature of the mid-game delay and the scoring change, the ruling did not alter the final result of the contest. The Blue Jays secured a 2-1 victory to open the series. While the Red Sox were credited with one run, their subsequent attempts to rally, including a ninth-inning double by Jarren Duran, proved unsuccessful.
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