The Toronto Blue Jays had a chance to either tie or win in the ninth inning of Game 6 of the World Series Friday night, but a lodged ball in the outfield had a hand in stopping that from happening. After Alejandro Kirk was hit by a pitch to start the bottom of the ninth, Myles Straw came in as a pinch runner for the Blue Jays’ catcher while Addison Barger stepped up to the plate. A line drive off a 2-2 pitch found the gap in left-centre field, but the ball wound up being wedged under the outfield padding. Dodgers’ outfielder Justin Dean threw his hands up in the air to signal it was a “dead ball” – when a ball “halts the game and no plays can legally occur,” according to Major League Baseball – and the umpires paused action. Fans and Toronto players were left confused, as both Straw and Barger rounded the bases and crossed home plate, only for officials to point them back to third and second base, respectively. The Blue Jays would fail to score either Straw or Barger, and the Dodgers won Game 6 by a score of 3-1. ‘Tough break’: John Schneider Blue Jays manager John Schneider was asked about the lodged ball in his post-game press conference, saying he’s never seen something like that happen during his time with the team. “(We) just caught a tough break there. (Barger) put a really good swing on that pitch and we ultimately ended up second and third with nobody out with guys that make contact and just didn’t get it done,” he said. “Just didn’t bounce our way there. What is the rule for a ‘dead ball?’ According to rule four of Major League Baseball’s ground rules page for the Rogers Centre, “a fair ball lodging in fence padding” equals two bases for the hitter and any runners that were on base. When it comes to outfield wall padding, Major League Baseball says: “If a fair ball gets lodged in the outfield wall padding … it is a ground-rule double. On all ground-rule doubles, the ball is dead, the batter-runner goes to second and all additional runners are permitted to move up two bases from the one they occupied at the time of the pitch.” The Blue Jays would fail to score either Straw or Barger, and the Dodgers won Game 6 by a score of 3-1. Game 7 of the World Series is Saturday night at the Rogers Centre. Shohei Ohtani is expected to start for the Dodgers, while Max Scherzer may take the mound for Toronto.
