Play No. 1

The Twins hosted the Cubs on July 9th, 2025.

In the bottom of the fourth, Harrison Bader was batting facing Cade Horton. The Twins had Royce Lewis on third and Matt Wallner on first with two outs when Wallner broke for second on a 0-1 pitch.

Wallner got into a rundown between first and second when he was tagged out by Cubs’ first baseman Michael Busch. Lewis had crossed the plate before the tag and plate umpire Alex MacKay scored the run.

Ruleball Comments

• Assuming Wallner intentionally got into a rundown to buy time for Lewis to score, this was an excellent way to produce a “Time Play.”
• The Cubs fell asleep on this play by ignoring Lewis’ advance to the plate.
• Because the inning did not end in a force, nor did the batter-runner make the third out before reaching first base, the inning ended in a “Time Play” meaning a runner crossed the plate before the third out was recorded.
• Lewis’ run gave the Twins a 4-2 lead which proved to be the final score.
• With runners on first and third and two outs, creating a rundown to induce the defensive team to play the runner in the rundown, is very wise because I question if most infielders are aware of the “Time Play” rule in that situation.
• Defensively, teams should work on this with an eye toward the runner on third.
• Offensively, in my opinion this is an excellent strategy if the manager does not like the batter-pitcher matchup with runners on first and third and two outs.

Play No. 2

The White Sox hosted the Jays on July 9, 2025. In the top of the sixth, the Jays had Nathan Lukes on third and Vlad Guerrero Jr. on first with one out when Addison Barger hit a ground ball to Chicago first baseman Tim Elko who stepped on first to retire Barger. Elko then threw to shortstop Colson Montgomery who tagged Guerrero Jr. at second base. Because the tag occurred before Lukes crossed home plate, the run didn’t score.
The White Sox won the game, 2-1.

Ruleball Comments

• This was a “Time Play” because the inning did not end in a force play, nor did the batter-runner make the third out before reaching first base.
• Was Guerrero Jr. aware of the “Time Play” rule? If he was, he should have gotten into a rundown or backpedaled to buy “time” for Lukes to score if he knew that he was in the middle of a “Time Play” situation.
• Guerrero Jr. could have also attempted to return to first base because the force was removed.
• The Blue Jays first base coach can help in this situation since the out at first base removed the force. He could yell, “Back, Back, Back,” if he saw that Guerrero Jr. would have been an easy out that would have prevented the run from scoring.
• If Guerrero Jr., on the command of the first base coach, retreated back to first, it would be a good idea to run at the target of the first baseman who is receiving the throw. This can possibly cause a wild throw or pull the first baseman off the base.
• The job of Lukes was to run hard to the plate. From my perspective he failed to do so. It’s possible he still would not have crossed the plate before the tag if he ran hard, but that is unknown. The third base coach should move the lead runner and coach him to hustle to the plate.
• Lukes looked back at the trail runner instead of running hard THROUGH THE PLATE. This is a common mistake of the lead runner when he is aware that no play is being made on him.
• Plate umpire Adam Beck was on top of the play, but it appears he could have been in a better position to see the tag. He had to look to the side of the catcher.
• Sometimes this type of a “Time Play” can catch the plate umpire by surprise.

Play No. 3

The Rockies and Red Sox played at Fenway on July 7, 2025. In the top of the seventh the Rockies had Mickey Moniak on third and Thairo Estrada on second and two outs when Michael Toglia, facing Chris Murphy, hit a ground ball to Sox third baseman Nate Eaton. Rather than throw to first base to retire Toglia, Eaton attempted to tag Estrada for the third out of the inning.

Third base umpire Tom Hanahan called Estrada out for running out of the baseline for the apparent third out of the inning. But Rockies interim manager Warren Schaeffer argued that Estrada did not exceed the three-foot rule.

The umpires (Alfonso Marquez, Carlos Torres, Lance Barrett and Hanahan) huddled and supported Schaeffer’s argument. Estrada was allowed to remain at third base and Moniak scored.

Ruleball Comments

• This appeared to be a foolish play on Eaton’s part because the inning-ending out would not be a force out. Most likely, Eaton’s best play would have been to first base. When the batter-runner makes the third out at first base, no run can score.
• If Estrada was called out for running out of the baseline, Moniak would have scored if he crossed the plate before Estrada was called out because the inning would not have ended in a force out, nor did the batter-runner (Toglia) make the third out before reaching first base.
• Estrada’s three-foot baseline restriction went into effect the moment Eaton, with possession of the ball, made a motion toward Estrada. At that point, Estrada’s baseline was a straight line to third base, and he could not exceed three feet of that line.
• I can’t ever recall seeing the umpires reverse a baseline violation call, although I do agree that Hanahan did not make the proper ruling.
• Although Estrada most likely did not intentionally bait Eaton into making a play on him, this would be a smart Ruleball play. If the runner is going to third base with two outs in a non-force situation at about the same time another runner is crossing the plate, and he can draw the fielder’s attention and induce a play, there’s a good chance the runner crossing the plate will have time to score.
• In such a play as the above play, if the third baseman (or any fielder) attempts to end the inning on a tag play, the runner can back pedal or reverse direction to create time for the runner crossing the plate.
• The “Time Play” is reviewable but not the baseline play.

Rich Marazzi

Rules consultant/analyst: Angels, Dodgers, Mets, Nationals, Orioles, Padres, Phillies, Pirates, Red Sox, Rangers, Royals, Tigers, Twins, White Sox, Yankees, YES, and Chicago Sports Network