The Los Angeles Dodgers lost to the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday night, dropping the rubber match between the National League's two best teams by a 9-4 final (box score). The game got away from the Dodgers during the top of the sixth inning, when they allowed five runs that turned a 4-3 advantage into an 8-4 deficit. As the headline above suggests, there was a healthy heaping of controversy involved, too, resulting in Dodgers manager Dave Roberts' first ejection of the season.
The drama began when Phillies outfielder Brandon Marsh pushed a bunt to the left side of the infield. Marsh intended to give himself up to advance Alec Bohm, who was stationed at second base and represented the tying run. Things got tricky when Dodgers third baseman Enrique Hernandez retrieved the ball and decided to throw to third base, and to charging shortstop Miguel Rojas. Rojas was able to beat Marsh to the bag with enough time to catch the throw and apply the tag.
There was just one problem: third-base umpire Hunter Wendelstedt ruled Bohm safe because of obstruction.
Here's the play in its entirety:
Had the Dodgers been awarded the out, they would've had the ability to end the inning with a double-play ball. Instead, J.T. Realmuto plated the tying run on a ground out to third base, and reliever Joe Kelly struggled with his command, walking two batters and unloading a wild pitch before surrendering a three-run home run to Kyle Schwarber.
The Dodgers, predictably, were none too pleased at how things played out.
"He got it wrong," Roberts told reporters, including ESPN's Alden Gonzalez, after the game. "That's just a fact. Umpiring is hard. They do a great job. Tonight, that play affected the game."
Rojas was less restrained in his commentary, saying that Wendelstedt was "looking to be the hero."
"I think this guy has seen this play a million times, and he just wanted some part of, I don't know, part of a moment in the game," Rojas said.
Crew chief Marvin Hudson told reporters that Wendelstedt's call stemmed from Rojas being in front of the bag without first being in possession of the ball -- a modification on the obstruction rule that was inserted this year. "He's got to have the ball before he can get in front of the bag," Hudson said. "That's the new rule this year."
Back in the spring, Major League Baseball instructed umpires to be more mindful of calling obstruction on the basepaths.
An older version of MLB's rulebook states this in part concerning obstruction: "If a fielder is about to receive a thrown ball and if the ball is in flight directly toward and near enough to the fielder so he must occupy his position to receive the ball he may be considered 'in the act of fielding a ball.' It is entirely up to the judgment of the umpire as to whether a fielder is in the act of fielding a ball."
The play was not eligible to be challenged or reviewed using video.
It was up to Wendelstedt, then, to determine if Rojas had obstructed Bohm by stopping short of the third-base bag to receive the throw. It's unclear if Wendelstedt's decision was also influenced by the fact that Bohm's foot made contact with Rojas' as he attempted to slide into the bag. (Roberts, for his part, noted that Rojas had presented Bohm with a lane by assuming a straddling position with his lower body.)
The Phillies will now begin a series against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday. The Dodgers will welcome in the Pittsburgh Pirates beginning on Friday.
