REPLAY AND THEN RENDON.
Rendon delivers 2-run homer after controversial call in seventh almost derails Nats
The seventh inning at Minute Maid Park hardly has been run of the mill for the Nationals during this World Series.
That definitely was the case Tuesday in Game 6. An inning that included what seemed like a controversial call that would deflate the Nationals’ hopes of forcing a Game 7 instead was capped with their best player Anthony Rendon’s biggest moment of the series in a 7-2 victory.
The former Lamar High School and Rice standout homered, doubled and drove in five runs to help send the Nationals to the biggest game in the franchise’s 15-year history Wednesday night as they try to bring Washington its first MLB championship since the first incarnation of the Senators — now known as the Minnesota Twins — won it all in 1924.
With his team ahead 3-2 to start the top of the seventh, Nationals catcher Yan Gomes, the No. 9 hitter, led off the inning with a single.
Trea Turner then dropped a bunt to try to advance Gomes into scoring position. Pitcher Brad Peacock fielded the ball between the plate and the mound on the third-base side and threw to first.
As Turner neared the bag, he made contact with first baseman Yuli Gurriel’s glove, which came off as the ball got past him and rolled into foul territory.
As the ball skipped away, Gomes got to third as Turner took second. But Turner was then called out by home plate umpire Sam Holbrook and Gomes was ordered back to first.
“The batter’s box is in fair territory, first base is in fair territory,” Turner said. “I swung, I ran in a straight line (and) I got hit with the ball out. I’m out — I don’t understand it. I can understand if I veered one way or another. I didn’t.”
The call set off Nationals manager Dave Martinez, who stormed out of the dugout to argue with Holbrook. The play was then subjected to a replay review that lasted 4 minutes and 32 seconds and the out call was upheld.
“The ruling was that Trea Turner interfered, basically — not basically, he interfered with the first baseman trying to make a play,” said Joe Torre, MLB’s chief baseball officer. “In fact Gurriel'’ glove even came off at that point in time. (Turner) did run to the fair side of those 45-foot line, but really the violation was when he kept Gurriel from being able to catch the ball at first base.”
“It's a judgment call on the umpire. Sam Holbrook made the call. It was the right call.”
Torre said the delay came from communications issues with MLB’s replay center in New York.
Postgame, Martinez, who was ejected after another argument with Holbrook following the top of the inning ended, declined to elaborate on the play or his beef with the umpires.
“I mean — and in the heat of the moment things get blown out of hand. I saw things differently,” he said. “But I'm not going to —like I said, I’m never going to criticize any umpires or anything because they’re a big part of the game.”
After the delay, Will Harris relieved Peacock and got Adam Eaton to pop out to third for the second out.
That’s when Rendon, the Houston native, finally made his biggest impact in the series.
Rendon entered the game hitting .200 in the series with just two RBIs. Both came in the Nationals’ 12-3 win in Game 2, which featured a six-run seventh for Washington. As the Nationals lost games 3 through 5 at home, Rendon hit 3-for-12.
But the NL MVP frontrunner’s Game 6 started on a good note with a first-inning RBI single off Astros starter Justin Verlander.
Then facing Harris — who’d made three appearances without giving up a run in the series and had not been scored on in 10 postseason appearances entering Tuesday — Rendon drove the second pitch he saw, a 91.1 mph cutter, into the Crawford Boxes in left field for a two-run homer to give the Nationals a 5-2 lead.
“You can’t let any outside elements get into the game,” Rendon said of the in-inning delay. “No matter if it’s the crowd. You’ve got 40,000 people cheering against you. Or whether it’s the weather or if we’re in D.C., and it’s 40 degrees, whatever it might be.
“No one is going to feel sorry for you. They’re going to expect you to go out there and just perform as best as you can, and they’re going to expect the best out of you. … We try to just keep our head down and keep playing.”
Rendon capped his night with a two-run double in the ninth to remove any drama and send the fans scurrying for the exits, with one last game in a wacky World Series that’s the first to have the road team win the first six games.