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Alden Gonzalez, ESPN Staff Writer
ANAHEIM, Calif. — A sparse afternoon crowd at Angel Stadium gathered enough voices to produce a surprisingly loud “safe” chant as Wednesday’s contest neared its conclusion, hoping to prolong a game that still seemed undecided. The news, relayed from home-plate umpire Hunter Barksdale, disappointed them:
Replay review of an initial out call on Jo Adell‘s attempted steal of second base, which would have put the tying run in scoring position with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, was not overturned. The Los Angeles Angels‘ late comeback hopes had fallen just short. They absorbed a 6-5 loss to the visiting Baltimore Orioles, their sixth defeat in seven games. And afterwards they lamented what could have been.
“I was in there,” Adell said. “That call goes our way, we have [Luis] Rengifo up with a runner on second and we’re ready to tie the game.”
The Angels, seeking their first series win since the start of April, trailed 6-0 midway through the sixth but had cut their deficit to two by the time Orioles closer Craig Kimbrel took the mound for the ninth inning. A two-base error and run-scoring groundout made it a one-run game with two outs, then Adell worked a full-count walk and took off for second on the ensuing pitch from Kimbrel, who is notoriously slow to the plate.
At least one camera angle appeared to show Adell’s right foot touching the edge of second base before Henderson’s glove touched the top of his right leg, but second-base umpire Nic Lentz called him out. The Angels challenged the call, triggering a long delay.
“We’re all looking at the picture, we’re watching the video,” Adell said. “Where my foot hit and where I got tagged were two totally different spots.”
But the umpire reviewing replay at Major League Baseball’s headquarters in Manhattan — in this case Carlos Torres — disagreed. He ruled that the call “stands,” which means there was not enough evidence to overturn it.
“After viewing all relevant angles, the replay official could not definitively determine that the runner touched second base prior to the fielder applying the tag,” read an MLB statement from their replay center.
Angels manager Ron Washington said he was “very surprised” by the call.
Mike Trout, who hit his major league-leading 10th home run while hitting leadoff for the second straight day, echoed those sentiments.
“I thought he was safe,” he said, “but obviously New York didn’t think so.”