LOS ANGELES — A heated argument over an umpire’s interpretation of an obstruction rule prompted Dave Roberts’ first ejection of the season and, in his mind, triggered the five-run sixth inning that cost his Los Angeles Dodgers the game.
“He got it wrong,” Roberts said after the Dodgers’ 9-4 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday night. “That’s just a fact. Umpiring is hard. They do a great job. Tonight, that play affected the game.”
The Phillies trailed 4-3 when Brandon Marsh squared to bunt with none out and a runner on second in the top of the sixth. Dodgers third baseman Enrique Hernandez charged forward to field the baseball, spun and threw to shortstop Miguel Rojas, who had sprinted to cover the vacant base. Rojas’ glove tagged Alec Bohm’s sliding left foot before he reached third base, but third-base umpire Hunter Wendelstedt determined that Rojas impeded the baserunner’s progress before securing the baseball. Bohm was ruled safe.
The Phillies proceeded to take a four-run lead on a groundout, a wild pitch and a three-run homer by Kyle Schwarber, his second of three on the night and his third of four in a 24-hour period from Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers lost two of three to a Phillies team that now leads them by 2 1/2 for the best record in the National League. In a span of 15 days, their lead in the NL West has shrunk from 8½ games to three, with the San Diego Padres and the Arizona Diamondbacks hot on their tails.
After the smoke had cleared, the Dodgers remained furious at Wendelstedt’s ruling. Roberts said it was “an egregious missed call.”
Rojas, an 11-year veteran, claimed Wendelstedt was “looking to be the hero.”
“I think this guy has seen this play a million times, and he just wanted some part of, I don’t know, part of a moment in the game,” Rojas said. “And it’s really sad that it changed the whole context of the game for us, especially the way that we’re playing right now, trying to win games. It’s unfortunate that an umpire can change the narrative of a game and a series.”
Crew chief Marvin Hudson, who was umpiring second base, spoke on Wendelstedt’s behalf after the game and said Rojas “was in front of the big without the ball,” citing a new interpretation of the obstruction rule.
Over the offseason, Major League Baseball asked umpires to re-emphasize Rule 6.00(h) and call obstruction if they determine the fielder positioned himself to impede or hinder a runner’s path to the base before receiving the ball.
“He’s got to have the ball before he can get in front of the bag,” Hudson said. “That’s the new rule this year.”
Roberts noted that Bohm was provided a lane when Rojas spread his legs out wide upon receiving Hernandez’s throw, though Rojas’ foot did slightly collide with Bohm’s as he was applying the tag. More importantly, Roberts believes the call, which is not reviewable, missed the spirit of the rule.
“We’re still playing baseball and you have to let some of the greatest athletes in the world make plays,” Roberts said. “The rule was to deter guys from blocking the bag to potentially harm a baserunner who’s going in head-first. That’s the genesis of the rule. Miggy’s legs are spread wide once he secured the baseball. So there is a lane. If he was there in time. The ball beat him. There was a lane. He doesn’t know where the runner is going to be sliding. He’s trying to secure the baseball to then turn and make a tag. That’s it. It’s a baseball play.”
