Diamondbacks Forget Fourth Out, Giving Dodgers a Run

How many outs in an inning?

Four, if you need them.

Had the Diamondbacks realized that, they would have allowed the Dodgers one fewer run Sunday. Instead, Los Angeles' Andre Ethier scored a run on a lineout without tagging up.

How's that? Well, follow closely:

The Dodgers had runners on second and third with one out, and Randy Wolf hit a liner up the middle. As Diamondbacks pitcher Dan Haren caught it, Ethier (from third base) and Juan Pierre (from second) were off and running.

Haren turned and fired the ball to second baseman Felipe Lopez, who walked over toward Pierre and tagged him out.

That ended the inning. The Diamondbacks went to their dugout. And from the other dugout came LA manager Joe Torre, saying Ethier's run should count.

He was right.

As the Los Angeles Daily News' Tony Jackson reports, umpire crew chief Charlie Reliford told a pool reporter:

"We had about six rules involved here. ... As Felipe Lopez goes by second base, the home plate umpire (Larry Vanover) couldn't tell if (Lopez) touches the bag or if the out is recorded when (Lopez) touches the runner. And that made a difference in whether or not the run counted. If (Lopez) had touched the bag – and we determined that that was an unmistakable act of an appeal – the run wouldn't have counted. The extra time it took Lopez to tag the runner (Pierre) allowed the run to score.

"Joe (Torre) came out and said, `You know that run counts.' But we couldn't make that call until we knew exactly what we had at second base. They could have gotten the fourth out with an appeal at third base (a player in possession of the ball touching the bag), but they didn't do that before leaving the field."

Had the Diamondbacks been alert, they could have had someone take the ball and step on third base for an appeal before leaving the field. Even though there were already three outs, the umpires would have then called Ethier out for not tagging up, and the run would not have counted. It's the rare "fourth out," as described in rule 7.10(d):

Any appeal under this rule must be made before the next pitch, or any play or attempted play. If the violation occurs during a play which ends a half-inning, the appeal must be made before the defensive team leaves the field.

... Appeal plays may require an umpire to recognize an apparent "fourth out." If the third out is made during a play in which an appeal play is sustained on another runner, the appeal play decision takes precedence in determining the out. If there is more than one appeal during a play that ends a half-inning, the defense may elect to take the out that gives it the advantage. For the purpose of this rule, the defensive team has "left the field" when the pitcher and all infielders have left fair territory on their way to the bench or clubhouse.

(This rule makes it possible for a quadruple play of sorts: bases loaded, fly out, runner on third scores, runner on second thrown out going to third, runner on first thrown out going to second, defensive team successfully appeals that runner on third left early.)

And it's not the umpires' responsibility to make Ethier tag up; once he didn't, it was up to the Diamondbacks to tag him, step on the base or appeal to get him out.

So let's review how Arizona botched the play:

• Had Haren thrown to third baseman Mark Reynolds, he could have stepped on third for the third out;

• Had Lopez stepped on second base before Ethier crossed the plate, the run would not have counted;

• Had Lopez hustled over to tag Pierre before Ethier crossed the plate, the run would not have counted;

• Had the Diamondbacks appealed at third base before leaving the field, Ethier would have been out instead of Pierre, and the run would not have counted.

Got it?