If the Buster Posey stolen base was the controversy of Game 1 between the Braves and Giants, then Michael Young’s check swing was the equivalent in the Rays/Rangers ALDS. Young was up with men on first and second in the 5th inning and facing reliever Chad Qualls. Young had two strikes on him and appeared to go around on a check swing that would have resulted in a strikeout. On the appeal to the first base umpire, Young was ruled safe and got to continue his at-bat. Young belted the next pitch to deep center for a three-run home run giving the Rangers a 5-0 lead. They went on to win 6-0 and take a 2-0 ALDS lead on the Rays. In case you missed it, here’s the controversial check swing:
While the call was wrong, the Rays have less of a gripe than the Braves. Tampa Bay was already down 2-0 and has only managed one run in the entire series. Even if Young was punched out (as he should have been), Josh Hamilton singled and that would have scored a run to make it 3-0. Besides, the Rays need to hit — they’ve only scored one run in two games. Their inability to score consistently plagued them during the season and seems to be their problem in the postseason.
