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If someone read the boxscore of a 2-1 win for the Blue Jays over the Red Sox, nothing would stand out other than Sonny Gray falling to 14-3 thanks to a tough-luck loss. The Blue Jays won a close game to keep their hopes of a wild-card spot alive, while the Red Sox lost their third straight after a ridiculous hot streak nearly moved them past the Yankees for the first wild-card.
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However, if you happened to tune into the seventh inning on Aug. 10, you likely saw probably the most bizarre way to score a run this season and perhaps in recent memory.
If you thought Chris Sale getting ejected before the first pitch of a game he was not pitching was unique, this play was downright bizarre, leading to mass confusion among anyone on the field, in the stands and watching on television, not to mention the umpires.
Boston’s one run scored after a 17-minute delay to check the rules, and what happened required some heavy reading of the rulebook, much more so than going through the balk sections.
How Red Sox scored a strange run
The Red Sox were poised to chip into a two-run deficit when Anthony Seigler and Connor Wong started the inning with singles.
A forceout by Nick Sogard resulted in the scoreboard showing two outs. The ball was hit as a low line drive to Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and it seems likely the mechanism controlling the scoreboard for Major League Baseball thought the ball was caught on a line and showed two outs, something announced to the media covering the game.
Next came a routine fly ball to center field by Ceddanne Rafaela. Based on the scoreboard, it was the third out, except the Blue Jays knew it was only the second out, which is why rookie center Brett Bateman threw the ball to the infield, and Guerrero tagged the bag to double off the runner while Seigler scored, or at least tried to.
What was determined, and what is the rule?
Before he checked in with New York, crew chief Chris Guccione said to the audience: “What we have here is we have a time play.”
When the meeting with replay umpires ended, Guccione said the run was going to score, and the inning had ended.
The reason was because of Rule 5.09(c)(4). Found on page 52 of the expansive rule book, it states when “an appeal play takes place on an inning-ending play, the appeal play decision takes precedence in determining the out.
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The ruling by New York occurred after plate umpire Charlie Ramos waved off the run since it was assumed to be a normal double play. Once that happened, the Blue Jays crossed the foul line, which usually forfeits teams’ chance to appeal.
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The Blue Jays had a case in thinking the opportunity to appeal was lost due to unclear communication, which explains why manager John Schneider said he completely disagreed with the ruling, which was explained this way by Guccione to a pool reporter:
“Both Boston runners, thinking there were two outs, just took off. When the second out was made, now we have two runners who have failed to return and tag up correctly. At that time, the guy from third had crossed home plate, and the guy who was at first was standing at second. Toronto knew he hadn’t tagged up and threw to first base to make the third out. Well, that’s a time play, meaning it’s not a force play. If it’s a force play, the run does not score automatically. If it’s a time play — meaning, ‘Was the out made before or after the runner crossed home plate?’ — in this case, the runner crossed before the appeal play was made [at first]. In this play, it’s what you call an apparent fourth out.”
Still a mental mistake by the Red Sox
Over their insane stretch of 32 wins in 37 games, the Red Sox made very few mistakes, and maybe they did not make any, since winning at that rate is as close to perfect as you can get.
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In their third straight loss, the bizarre play was a mental mistake by the Red Sox for following the scoreboard and not being aware of how many outs there were. It is a situation that occasionally crops up, including when it happened to Francisco Lindor in St. Louis in the first week of this season.
However, the mental mistake is nothing like the 1994 instance of Larry Walker catching a fly ball from Mike Piazza in Dodger Stadium, giving the ball to a fan, and Jose Offerman nearly tagging up to score from first base.
Are there any other instances of a fourth out?
If you watch enough games, you might have seen it, but there’s a good chance very few people have seen what unfolded Monday, along with some of the other recent instances.
In a game between the Pirates and Nationals on June 29, 2022, Ke’Bryan Hayes lined out to first base against Steve Cishek. The Nationals completed a double play, and Jack Suwinski scored after not tagging up, but the appeal attempt occurred after players exited the field.
Thirteen years earlier, in a game between the Dodgers and Diamondbacks, Randy Wolf lined out to fellow pitcher Dan Haren. Haren started a double play, and Arizona walked off the field after tagging Juan Pierre. Andre Ethier scored from third without tagging, and his run counted because the appeal was late.
It can be a confusing play, and the 17-minute check with New York did not help, which might explain why
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This story was originally published August 11, 2026 at 10:25 AM.