Umps erred in controversial baserunning call in Orioles-Blue Jays game, according to MLB

The Orioles were furious when a controversial baserunning call in Sunday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays negated what would have been an inning-ending double play.

Turns out, they had every right to be.

Officials from Major League Baseball spoke Monday with the Orioles and the umpires involved in the call, a person familiar with the conversations said. That person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, but they confirmed that umpires did not properly enforce Rule 5.09(b)(1) of Major League Baseball’s official rule book in the sixth inning of Sunday’s contest.

With runners on the corners and one out, Brandon Valenzuela hit a ground ball near second base. Shortstop Gunnar Henderson fielded it and ran toward Ernie Clement, who was running from first, to attempt a tag. But Clement ran out of the baseline to avoid it. Henderson threw to first to record one out.

Clement was ruled safe. He should’ve been ruled out.

Rule 5.09(b)(1) states that any runner is out when “he runs more than three feet away from his base path to avoid being tagged unless his action is to avoid interference with a fielder fielding a batted ball. A runner’s base path is established when the tag attempt occurs and is a straight line from the runner to the base he is attempting to reach safely.”

The noncall allowed Jesús Sánchez to score from third and cut the deficit to 4-2. Then the wheels came off. By the end of the sixth inning, the Orioles trailed 5-4 after the Blue Jays collected three straight two-out hits.

After the game, umpire Nic Lentz, who made the call, argued that Clement altered his path to second base to avoid running into Henderson fielding the baseball.

“The runner has the right to establish his basepath, and so Clement had established his basepath to avoid the fielder from potential interference,” Lentz told a pool reporter. “Even though Henderson reached out for a tag, Clement’s basepath was already established out there, going to the second base, so therefore it was not out of the baseline.”

Still, per the official rules, the initial obligation for a runner is to not deviate “more than three feet away from his base path to avoid being tagged unless his action is to avoid interference with a fielder fielding a batted ball.” Henderson had already fielded the baseball when he attempted to tag Clement. And Clement was beyond the acceptable distance from his baseline, meaning the inning should’ve been over.

Lentz’s postgame explanation also differed slightly from what he told Orioles manager Craig Albernaz on the field. Albernaz said he was told the runner established a baseline outside his running path and that Henderson did not make a sufficient attempt to apply a tag.

“Explanation was that the runner established a baseline outside of his running path,” Albernaz said. “So it’s similar to when a ground ball to first base, runner on first base and the guy’s running to second base and you veer off to kind of deflect the throw, so you have leeway there. And then, also, umpire said Gunnar’s tag attempt wasn’t a good enough attempt.”

Albernaz said there’s no rule that states how far you have to extend your arms to tag somebody. On Sunday, Henderson said, “I’m not going to go chase him to right field when I’m trying to turn a double play there.”

It’s common for MLB officials to evaluate and communicate with umpires about their in-game performance in a variety of areas, including ball-strike decisions and calls on the field like Sunday’s. The sequence was certainly a teaching point, even if it left the Orioles with a bitter taste in their mouth.