Yankees lose game-tying homer on fan interference in ALDS vs. Rays
· Yahoo Sports
NEW YORK — Yankee Stadium had gone quiet with the Rays up 4-2 with two outs in the bottom of the sixth Wednesday night until Anthony Volpe made it go bonkers with a blast into the left-field seats.
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The Yankees weren’t done yet in their win-or-go-home Game 3 of the American League Division Series against the Rays.
But wait ...
With Volpe starting his home-run trot, Rays left fielder Victor Mesa Jr. pointed to where the ball went out and pleaded with the umpires to rule that it was fan interference.
They went to a replay challenge, and, yes, it was clear that a man sitting in a first-row seat reached into play and touched the ball as it was about to hit the top of the wall.
“After viewing all relevant angles, the Replay Official definitively determined the spectator interfered with the ball over the field of play,” MLB said in a statement after the ruling. “The ball would not have left the playing field nor would it have been caught. The call is OVERTURNED, there was spectator interference and no home run. Additionally, the Replay Official scored one run and placed the batter-runner at second base.”
Instead of a 4-4 game, Volpe was awarded an RBI ground-rule double with George Lombard Jr. scoring from first base. The 4-3 score held for the rest of the game, eliminating the Yankees from the playoffs.
A security guard at Yankee Stadium told NJ.com that the fan was ejected from the stadium per MLB policy.
Rays manager Kevin Cash argued that Lombard should have been placed on third base, but umpires determined he would have scored from first base with two outs.
Mesa’s two-run homer in the top of the sixth inning off Yankees left-hander Max Fried broke the 2-2 tie.
NJ.com’s Max Goodman contributed to this report
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