MLB playoffs 2021 — Inside the weird, wild and controversial 13th inning of Rays-Red Sox ALDS Game 3
Written by Luck on October 10, 2021
What. Just. Happened?
Game 3 of the ALDS series between the Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox might have had one of the wildest endings in postseason history. The two teams had battled back and forth for more than five hours, with Wander Franco and Randy Arozarena leading a comeback in the eighth inning to help send the game into extras. Neither squad could get much going from the 10th to the 13th, but then all hell broke loose.
First, Kevin Kiermaier looked like he had put the Rays ahead with a deep shot to center field that likely would have scored Yandy Diaz. The ball hit the wall, bounced off Red Sox right fielder Hunter Renfroe, and bounced out of play, an unusual, near-unprecedented sequence of events — seriously, when was the last time you saw a ball bounce off a player and go into the stands unless it was literally that one time Jose Canseco caused a home run with his head? It was a bizarre play that provoked quite a bit of reaction around the baseball world.
Make it make sense pic.twitter.com/QyLp3UTpdL
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) October 11, 2021
So basically if you think the runner is gonna score just let the ball hit off you and over the fence for a ground rule double??? That’s TERRIBLE!
— Demetrius Stewart (@GOOODJ8) October 11, 2021
Kevin Kiermaier: “That’s the ruling; the umpire explained it to me. The rules are what they are. But that’s a heartbreaker. I can’t believe that’s a ground rule double.”
— Marly Rivera (@MarlyRiveraESPN) October 11, 2021
No matter how long you play a sport you will always see something new. And tonight we did!
— 10 (@SimplyAJ10) October 11, 2021
I have never seen this before. Which is part of why I love this stupid sport so much.
— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) October 11, 2021
Just think, if the game had been in Tampa, Kiermaier’s ball could have hit a cat walk and been a homer.
— Will Middlebrooks (@middlebrooks) October 11, 2021
Confused? So was … just about everyone, honestly. Fortunately, we managed to track down the relevant rule.
For those asking: Well, Yandy Diaz was halfway between second and third when the ball hit out Hunter Renfroe, so why didn’t he get two bases and advance home? Here is the rule from the MLB umpire manual. It has to do with possession — and it determines when the two are awarded. pic.twitter.com/FVXF20QN6Q
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 11, 2021
In other words, you can’t just grab the ball and chuck it into the stands without there being a penalty. No, you just have to completely misfield it and only then do you get rewarded!
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 11, 2021
Nick Pivetta, who was otherwise on fire, managed to get out of the inning without further damage, and the world settled in for perhaps several more hours of — wait, no, actually, Christian Vazquez ended it with a walk-off two-run home run in the bottom of the inning.
Cue #DirtyWater! pic.twitter.com/d2h6FT7FXT
— MLB (@MLB) October 11, 2021
Absolute heartbreak for the Rays — and they’ll have to try to stave off elimination in less than 24 hours.
