Overview
- In the bottom of the sixth on Sunday, Ernie Clement veered wide to avoid a tag from Gunnar Henderson and was ruled safe at second, allowing Jesús Sánchez to score and triggering a Blue Jays rally that produced three two-out RBI hits and a 6-4 win.
- Second-base umpire Nic Lentz and crew chief Hunter Wendelstedt defended the call, saying Clement had established his base path at the moment of the tag attempt and was getting out of the way to let the fielder make the play, invoking the exception in MLB Rule 5.09(b).
- Baltimore players and manager publicly protested the decision, with Henderson calling it 'super frustrating' and manager Craig Albernaz arguing Henderson made an attempted tag; pitcher Shane Baz declined to comment further to avoid fines for criticizing umpires.
- The game featured a later, contrasting enforcement when Jackson Holliday was called out in the ninth for leaving the baseline because, Wendelstedt said, he had not established a base path and then deviated more than three feet to avoid a tag.
- The result left Toronto 32-34 and Baltimore 31-35 and highlighted how the technical wording of Rule 5.09(b) and umpire judgment can produce different outcomes on similar plays, a matter likely to draw closer scrutiny of in-game baseline calls.