A bizarre interference call at third base stifled a bases-loaded rally in Denver, handed the Pittsburgh Pirates another one-run loss, and pushed the struggling club below the .500 mark.
Weird things happen in the mile-high atmosphere at Coors Field, especially to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Pirates have had their share of tough losses to the Colorado Rockies in Denver over the years. A recent one that comes to mind happened last Aug. 1 when Pittsburgh scored nine runs in the top of the first inning but lost 17-16.
Neither of the first two games of the current three-game series has been an altitude-fueled slugfest. Instead, the Pirates have lost back-to-back-to-back one-run games to the Rockies, who have the worst record in the major leagues, ending both games with the bases loaded.
The latest loss came Saturday night, when Pittsburgh fell 2-1, marking their 10th loss in their last 14 games and dropping it under .500 at 38-39.
Down 2-1 in the ninth inning, the Pirates loaded the bases. Tyler Callihan struck out, and Jake Mangum hit a slow bouncer to third baseman Kyle Karros, beating the throw for an apparent tying single.
Karros fielded the ball but raised his hands rather than throw to first base, contending that baserunner Billy Cook had interfered with him and the contact made the ball rattle in his glove, causing his late throw. The umpires met, and first base umpire Todd Tichenor, the crew chief, eventually pointed to third base to rule Cook out and end the game.
Pirates manager Don Kelly unsuccessfully argued the call.
"(Cook) has to avoid the fielder making a play on the ball. That is it," Tichenor told a pool reporter. "That is plain as it can be. There was contact made as he was in the act of fielding the baseball."
Cook was adamant at the time of the play that he did not make contact with Karros, but then admitted the umpires were correct after watching the replay.
"The video doesn’t lie," Cook told reporters after the game. “Just unfortunate how that played out.”
Cook gave his account of the play.
“First and foremost, Jake puts the ball in play with two outs, and I’m going on contact," Cook said. "I know I can’t get hit by the ball, so I beat the ball and had no contact with the third baseman. I’m just running, and I guess he clipped my cleat just barely, because I was past him. I was just as surprised. Then they didn’t call anything, and all of a sudden they did.
“You look back, and you’re like, ‘well, I could have stopped, and if I get into a rundown and get tagged out, the run scores,’ but I beat the ball, and that’s what I’m trying to do, and not make contact with the fielder. If that happens, then we have bases loaded and two outs, because Jake beats that every time. Can’t stop and get tagged out before the runner scores, so I just sprinted through, and it’s just unfortunate how it happened.”
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