Cardinals-Reds game ends in controversy after umps leave field
The St Louis Cardinals won their game against the Cincinnati Reds 4-3 on Thursday in controversial fashion that left Cincinnati highly dissatisfied.
The game was tied at 3 entering the bottom of the ninth. Yadier Molina was up with Matt Carpenter on first and two outs in the inning. Molina smacked a ball to deep left field that bounced off the second wall at Busch Stadium. In live action, Carpenter raced around the bases to score the winning run.
The Cardinals began to celebrate while the umpires walked off the field.
YADI! YADI! YADI! #STLCards pic.twitter.com/8Vu0M9OZIV
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) September 30, 2016
However, the Reds later realized that the ball hit off the second wall at the stadium, which is considered out of play. That means Molina should have been credited for a ground-rule double. Runners cannot advance additional bases on ground-rule doubles, so Carpenter should have been sent back to third base according to the rules, with Molina at second.
If the proper ruling were determined by the umpires, the game would have remained tied at three and the Cardinals would have had runners on second and third with two outs. Instead, the game was called a final at 4-3.
By the time Reds manager Bryan Price tried to challenge, the umpires were off the field. Price was seen heading towards the umpire room inside the stadium to try appealing to them.
There is one thing to note: all challenges are supposed to be made in timely fashion. Take a look at the rule:
After watching the Reds-Cardinals ending, I found this on Major League Baseball's website regarding replay review. pic.twitter.com/MiqmvXV9ve
— Austin Kim (@AustinKKim) September 30, 2016
Here is what the umps said:
Spoke to umpires and #reds did not show an intent to challenge w/in 10 seconds (per rule), did not challenge w/in 30 (per rule). #cardinals
— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) September 30, 2016
The game’s outcome is of particular interest to the Giants, who are battling the Cardinals for the second NL wild-card spot.
