A confusing sequence unfolded during the Orioles-Diamondbacks game when Gurriel Jr. made a sliding catch in left field with the bases loaded. The issue wasn’t the play itself, but the lack of umpire calls afterward. No one signaled whether the ball was caught, so the runners were left guessing. Gurriel’s wild throw after the catch flew into the net, allowing a run to score while the rest of the base runners took off unsure of what had happened. The Arizona defense tried to recover by throwing the ball around to tag runners, but still, no clear calls were made. The Orioles’ manager Brandon Hyde then challenged what he thought was a no-catch ruling and a no tag-up, though it was unclear what anyone was challenging since the umps hadn’t made any calls on the field.
The chaos escalated as the umpires, players, and managers scrambled for clarity. Hyde thought the run wouldn’t count due to a missed tag-up, but the umps clarified that Mullins had tagged at third and the run was valid. Meanwhile, another runner, Tyler O’Neill, did not tag at second and was called out. Ultimately, the umpires confirmed Gurriel caught the ball, Mullins scored, but O’Neill was out. Baltimore lost its challenge. Arizona retained theirs. Somehow, they sorted it out, but the sequence highlighted major communication gaps. Despite eventually reaching the right result, the umps’ lack of real-time calls caused widespread confusion and a mess that could have been avoided.