‘It’s clear that his foot didn’t touch the plate’

A controversial lost replay challenge by the Atlanta Braves in the ninth inning on Sunday night was the difference in the game, as the visiting Philadelphia Phillies came from behind in a wild 7-6 victory, writes Jesse Rogers

of ESPN.

Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm

slid home with the eventual winning run as Braves catcher Travis d’Arnaud attempted to apply the tag, moving from the third-base side of the plate to the first-base side, where Bohm was coming in.

Plate umpire Lance Barrett called Bohm safe, though replays showed he might never have touched home plate. After a long delay for the video challenge, the ruling on the field was upheld.

“In real time, it’s bang-bang,” Braves starter Drew Smyly said after the game. “We have five different angles on a national televised game, and it’s clear that his foot didn’t touch the plate. That it was on the chalk. For MLB not to overturn that, it’s embarrassing. Why even have replay if you won’t overturn that?”

The official ruling from MLB stated the replay official “could not definitively determine that the runner failed to touch home plate prior to the fielder applying the tag.”

“Initially, I didn’t know if he was safe or out, but after watching the replay, it looked like his foot didn’t touch the bag, from any angle we saw,” d’Arnaud said. “I thought he was clearly out at the plate.”

Players around the league agreed, with Justin Turner and Mike Trout sharing their thoughts on the call on Twitter.

The inning began with the teams tied 6-6. After Bohm led off with a double, Jean Segura

hit a ground ball to second, allowing Bohm to reach third base. Lefty Didi Gregorius then hit a shallow fly ball to left field off of Braves reliever Will Smith. Braves left fielder Marcell Ozuna camped under it, then threw a twohopper to the plate, slightly to the third-base side. D’Arnaud caught the ball and then slid toward first to tag Bohm as his left foot got to the plate.

Bohm was asked if he thought he was safe after the game.

“I was called safe,” he said. “That’s all that matters.”

Phillies manager Joe Girardi added: “It looked like his big toe kind of hit the corner of the plate when we saw all the angles.”