Rangers fall to White Sox after home-plate collision violation call

CHICAGO -- It was a back-and-forth affair at Guaranteed Rate Field Tuesday night as both the Rangers and White Sox rallied from multiple deficits in an offensive thriller, and it all culminated in a disputed call at the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Texas entered the bottom half of the frame with a two-run lead and rookie Grant Anderson on the mound, looking to keep the White Sox from storming back like they had all night.

• White Sox 7, Rangers 6 (box score)

Chicago shortstop Elvis Andrus promptly delivered a two-out, two-run single off Anderson to tie the game before attempting to score on a Zach Remillard single to left field. Travis Jankowski fired a dart to catcher Jonah Heim, who appeared to tag Andrus for the third out to keep the game tied.

The White Sox, though, challenged both the out call and the home-plate collision rule. After a replay review, the call was overturned and Andrus was ruled safe, Heim being determined to have violated the collision rule by not allowing Andrus a clear path to the plate. The White Sox suddenly had a one-run lead, and Rangers manager Bruce Bochy was ejected for arguing the violation on Heim.

The Rangers went down in order in the top of the ninth inning and ultimately lost, 7-6, as Chicago evened the series at a game apiece.

“[The field crew is] not making the call, I get that,” Bochy said of his ejection. “I just wanted to get clarification on exactly what was called, and for that call to be made, I'm dumbfounded. It's absolutely one of the worst calls I've ever seen. And it was done by replay. I just don't get it. I don't care how many times they’ll try to explain it. You can't do that in that situation. It's a shame. It's embarrassing, really.”

MLB rule 6.01(i)(2) on collisions at home plate reads:

“Unless the catcher is in possession of the ball, the catcher cannot block the pathway of the runner as he is attempting to score. If, in the judgment of the umpire, the catcher without possession of the ball blocks the pathway of the runner, the umpire shall call or signal the runner safe. Notwithstanding the above, it shall not be considered a violation of this Rule 6.01(i)(2) if the catcher blocks the pathway of the runner in a legitimate attempt to field the throw.”

The Rangers were told that the call was overturned because Heim’s initial positioning was ruled illegal and his subsequent actions hindered Andrus’ path to the plate.

“I set up like we're taught to set up on the corner of the plate,” Heim said. “The ball took me up the line. I even backed up a little bit. He had all the whole front of the plate to slide into, so I'm not really sure what else I needed to do there. It's unfortunate that that's the decision they're making in that kind of situation, or we [would have been] going in the ninth inning, tie game. It’s upsetting. It seems like they want me to try and not catch the ball and not tag the guy out.”

Heim said it's the first time in his career he can recall being called in violation of the home-plate collision rule.

“As catchers, [the rule] is to protect us,” Heim said. “So I understand it and I know it's a good rule for us. But when it's taken out of context like that, it's kind of hard. I understand the rule. I know why it's there. When we see it, we know what it looks like and sometimes it's not the right call.”

Bochy, a former Major League catcher, said he thought Heim did a great job on the catch and the tag, leaving more than enough of a lane for Andrus to attempt to slide into the plate.

“I'm lost on this one,” Bochy said. “That's a tough one to take. ... I was shocked. We had it looked at and thought he was out. When I heard what the call was, I was just stunned. In that situation to reverse that call, it’s embarrassing. He was never in front of home plate, never blocking home plate. There was never any contact with the catcher. Explain this one to me. Maybe I missed a rule somewhere since I've been gone. I don't know.”

There’s no guarantee the Rangers would have come out with a win if the call stood, but it’s hard not to think about what would have been a tie game going into the ninth inning.

“We've had some tough ones, this is right up there,” Bochy said. “A lot of good things happened. We got down, we battled back. It got away from us, but I just loved to fight in this club. They fought back and got the lead and just couldn't quite hold on to it. You just have to put this behind you. That's what this club's done a great job of.”