A strange play unfolded late in the Diamondbacks vs. Giants game, and it left everyone confused, angry, or both. Bottom of the eighth, two outs, a runner on first. A grounder hugged the line at third, the throw to first was late, and all seemed normal until attention shifted to the runner rounding second. He was down on the dirt, crawling back in pain after colliding with the second baseman. Trainers came out, and the umpires had no clear call.
The second base ump didn’t have a view. The third base umpire eventually ruled obstruction, giving the injured runner second base. Giants manager Tori Lovullo lost it. He demanded answers, called for a review in New York, and wanted to know who made the obstruction call and when. He didn’t believe anyone had made the call in real-time and blew up when told otherwise. The argument reached its peak with Tori shouting, daring the crew to eject him—and they did. He stormed into the clubhouse, still fuming.
After seeing the replay, Tori admitted the third base umpire had pointed and made the right call. He just missed it in the moment. Later, he talked about the chaos and acknowledged he got it wrong. He said the umps handled it correctly, despite his earlier meltdown. He also joked about looking forward to how the moment would be broken down later, though he made it clear he wasn’t offering help.