Twice in two days, a respected executive with Bay Area connections blew up after a startling repeat report of a catcher jamming the plate.
On Tuesday, Rangers manager Bruce Bochy was sent off after a review found Texas catcher Jonah Heim blocked the plate. Bochy was understandably angry about the call. After being ejected — and after the White Sox clinched a comeback win thanks to the reversal — Bochy said he was “stunned” and called it “absolutely one of the worst decisions I’ve ever seen.”
An eerily identical sequence played out in San Francisco on Wednesday night. It converted a 1-0 lead into the fifth round in four runs and ultimately helped the Giants extend their winning streak to ten games longest winning streak since 2004.
With two outs late in the fifth round, the Giants’ Joc Pederson threw a single into right field. As Blake Sabol attempted to score from second place, the Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. threw a laser home and Sabol appeared to be wide by a mile. But after a long scrutiny in New York, MLB officials ruled that San Diego catcher Gary Sanchez illegally blocked the plate by standing in foul territory. Padres manager Bob Melvin slammed referee Manny Gonzalez, who was repeatedly heard passing the buck: “This is a repeat.”
– MLB replays Twitter
– NBCS Giants Twitter
The Giants added two more runs plus the tipped run in the inning to secure a 4-2 win.
After the game, Melvin sounded just like Bochycalled it a “terrible call” and “one of the worst calls I’ve seen this year.” Sanchez’s left foot was clearly in foul territory, which the blocking rule prohibits, but that’s being checked by officials and umpires You have some leeway to exclude runners if the ball beats them by a mile – which it did on Wednesday night. Melvin referred to After the game, he said, “The baserunner is at the bottom of the line. … At some point you have to fetch him.”
For his part, Giants manager Gabe Kapler was satisfied. “It seems they made the right decision” he said. “That’s just our interpretation.”