Josh Jung stopped running because the ball was foul before bouncing back fair, a breakdown
What Happened
In the bottom of the ninth inning, the Los Angeles Dodgers hold a 3-0 lead over the Texas Rangers. Tanner Scott of the Dodgers is on the mound, looking to record the save. The inning starts with a two-strike base hit, giving the Rangers some life. Shortstop Corey Seager reaches first base for the Rangers. Next up is Josh Jung, a right-handed hitter facing off against the left-handed Scott. Jung rips a hot shot down the line, but Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy smothers it and throws to second base, recording the first out of the inning. The Rangers' momentum seems to have been halted. However, Jung steps up again and delivers another two-strike single, putting runners on first and second with one out. The Rangers now have an opportunity to mount a comeback. Jung steps to the plate, and the battle continues. He fouls off several pitches, including a slider and a fastball. On the next offering, Jung hits a ground ball down the line. The ball appears to be foul, and Jung stops running, believing the play is over. But the first base umpire rules the ball fair, and the Dodgers turn a double play to end the game. Rangers manager Bruce Bochy comes out to argue the call, but the umpires stand firm. The replay shows the ball kicking up chalk as it goes over the bag, ultimately landing fair. The umpire's explanation is that even though the ball initially looked foul, it changed direction and went over the bag, making it a fair ball. Despite the Rangers' late-inning rally, the Dodgers hold on for a 3-0 victory. The loss is a tough one for the Rangers, who had a chance to tie the game in the ninth. But the umpire's call, while controversial, is upheld, and the Dodgers secure the save and the win.
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentDodgers are up three nothing. Bottom of
the ninth. Tanner Scott looking to
record the save. This breakdown is
brought to you by Corona. We have the
chaos of baseball. That is so beautiful.
The inning starts with a two strike base
hit. So the Rangers have something
doing. Seagars on. They're wearing those
uniforms even though they are the
Rangers. Look at the eye contact, the
level head. I love watching how level
these guys heads are. Next up, righty
verse lefty. That's a nice matchup. Hot
shot. Muny smothers it and throws it to
second. Pretty nice play. The Rangers
might not have something doing after
all. Nice play by Mad Max. Throws from
his knees, gets the lead runner. So now
there's a runner on first. One out and a
hot shot. Another two strike hot shot
single. Two on, no outs. The Rangers got
something going. They've got momentum.
And up comes Josh Young. And he's
looking to do some damage. First pitch.
Lands the slider. Bottom of the zone.
Beautiful. Then tries to play the fast
ball off of that. Fouled back. 0 and
two. Goes back to the slider. A little.
No. Goes back to the fast ball. A little
inside. Goes back to the fast. Fouled
back. Goes back to the slider. Ground
ball down the line. Fair ball. Throws it
to second for one. Throws it to first.
Where's He's not running. He's saying,
"No, that was foul. It's all good, guys.
Game's not over. I'm the umpire and I've
called it. The Dodgers don't agree. [ __ ]
yeah. They love it. Got the save. But
guys,
uh, I said foul. Bruce Boji's going to
come out because he doesn't understand
what's happening. And the home plate
umpire is going to talk to Josh and he's
going to say, "I tell you why. Ball over
the bag is fair. That ball [ __ ]
kicked and went over the bag, bro."
What? What
happened? That ball was
foul. God damn. That ball was foul.
Well, it's not foul because it was foul.
But then I promise you, I don't know
what it hit, but that ball [ __ ]
kicked and went over the bag. And he's
going to say, "If I had saw a foul, I
would go over there and overturn that
call." And the other umps like, "You
would do what, dude? That was my call. I
got it right." Like, "What are you
talking about?
I mean, god damn it. You got to be
kidding me with this. He's not into it
at all. He's like, "It's a [ __ ] good
game right until the last pitch. It was
a great game. It was a fair ball." He
knows he's going to miss that goddamn
call. Okay. All right. Let's go now.
Let's go. All right. Can't challenge
fair foul. The only thing you do is ask
the homeplay dump to overturn it. And
home play dump is like, "No, dude. That
ball kicked like crazy. Fans are saying,
"I want to see a replay." And you guys
are probably saying that at home, too.
So, here's the replay. They got a great
shot of it. It kicks. I mean, right
away. Let's watch that. It hits the
dirt. Looks like it's heading foul, but
then hits a lace and stays fair, but
then spins, hits foul, but then kicks
again. And when Muny touches it, it's on
the line. And he says, "Fair ball." So,
watch this kick at the end. It
definitely hits foul, so you can
understand, but then it does come back.
If it goes over the bag there, it's a
fair ball. I did science by editing,
which is backed by no one and believed
by some, so we could figure this out.
And what I did was I stacked the bag.
And let's see. And then I And then I
took the ball and put Does it go over
the red?
Yes, that ball goes over, clips the
corner of the bag, and then when my
touches it, it's on the line and fair. I
think it's a great call by this ump and
a very hard play. He stays with it. He's
got a player diving in front of him.
He's watching the ball. His eyes are on
it. He's moving his feet to evade and
also get on the line and then signals
properly. Bam. Fair ball. So kudos to
that umpire number 40 something. I don't
know his name. And kudos to Max Muny who
makes the play, stays with it, they turn
two, and not kudos to Josh Young who
should have run it out and didn't. I
love the chaos of baseball. I love
enjoying the craziness and the chaos of
baseball with a nice Corona. And you can
do that as well. You go to order.com to
get yours. Crack open a corona, squeeze
in a lime.