A hot mic made Tuesday night’s chaos at the World Series an even more heated situation.
During the controversial 10-minute delay in the seventh inning of Game 6, Fox microphones picked up Trea Turner calling out MLB’s chief baseball officer Joe Torre from the dugout after the Nationals shortstop had been called out at first base for interfering with Astros first baseman Yuri Gurriel.
“Joe Torre’s right there … and he’s sitting there with his head down, trying not to look up,” Turner said.
When play finally resumed, Washington’s Anthony Rendon clubbed a two-run home run to extend what had been a 3-2 lead and the Nats went on to win, 7-2, to force a Game 7 on Wednesday night.
Afterward, Torre defended home-plate umpire Sam Holbrook’s decision to rule Turner out at first base after the runner knocked off Gurriel’s glove as pitcher Brad Peacock’s throw arrived. The ball hit Turner and rolled into foul territory, initially giving the Nationals runners on second and third with none out, but Turner was ruled out and baserunner Yan Gomes was ordered to return to first base.
“The ruling was that Trea Turner interfered, basically — not basically, he interfered with the first baseman trying to make a play,” Torre said. “In fact, Gurriel’s glove even came off at that point in time. He did run to the fair side of the 45-foot line, but really the violation was when he kept Gurriel from being able to catch the ball at first base.”
Washington manager Dave Martinez was informed he was unable to protest a judgment call and was ejected following an animated tirade between innings.
“Look, I don’t want to sit here and talk about me or the umpires,” Martinez said after the game. “This is not about me or the umpires. This is about the Washington Nationals and those guys in the clubhouse coming to Game 6 and playing lights out, knowing that this could be it. And I’m super proud of them.
“But I’m not going to — like I said, I’m never going to criticize any umpires or anything, because they’re a big part of the game.”