Cleveland and their opponent were tied in the bottom of the fourth when a strange play unfolded. Trevor Bauer reached second base with a steal. Navarro, the catcher, was vocal about checking the runner, clearly aware Bauer was in scoring position. On the very next pitch, the batter smacked a single into right field.
Jay Bruce fielded the ball cleanly and fired it home. The throw beat Bauer to the plate by a mile. The catcher caught it and got the tag down. Still, for some reason, the umpire didn’t call Bauer out right away. Bauer looked confused but just walked off, along with the rest of the fans and players who figured the out was obvious. Replay showed the tag was clean. Pitcher Mike Leake, watching from the dugout, couldn’t believe how easy the tag looked and even dropped a frustrated reaction. No one could figure out why it seemed in question at all. It was one of those messy moments that leave both teams a bit puzzled.