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An enthusiastic Colorado Rockies fan nearly cost his team a victory Sunday in Denver by interfering with a Seattle Mariners outfielder on a possible exit in the bottom of the ninth.
With two outs and the bases empty in the bottom of the ninth, Colorado’s Jacob Stallings hit a drive to deep left field that was initially ruled a double, but initially appeared to be a home run.
But after a replay review, it was determined that the ball deflected off a fan’s glove as it went over the wall, interfering with the outstretched arm of Seattle left fielder Jonatan Clase. As a result, Stallings was ruled out and the game went to extra innings.
The play sparked immediate debate online, where fans were divided over the interference call.
Interestingly, Mariners announcers Aaron Goldsmith and Mike Blowers sided with the referees in the scoring.
A fan interferes with the ball on Seattle Mariners left fielder Jonatan Clase (5) in the ninth inning.
Mariners slugger Jacob Stallings and manager Bud Black argue against interference call
Mariners announcers Aaron Goldsmith and Mike Blowers were pretty convinced the review wouldn’t be like that.
“This ballgame is over,” Blowers said. “There’s no argument for the fan to interfere with Dylan, right?”
“I don’t think so,” Goldsmith replied.
In the end, it didn’t matter, as Ezequiel Tovar and Ryan McMahon each had an RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning to lift the Rockies over the Mariners 2-1 in the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader.
The victory snapped a season-worst six-game losing streak for the Rockies (5-16), who entered the day with the worst record in the National League and the worst 20-game start in franchise history. .
McMahon’s game-ending single sent home Charlie Blackmon for the fifth RBI of his career.
Seattle broke a scoreless tie in the top of the tenth, when JP Crawford’s RBI single brought home automatic runner Jorge Polanco.
Justin Lawrence (1-1) earned the victory. Andrés Muñoz (1-2) took the loss.
Colorado Rockies’ Ryan McMahon, center, is sprayed by teammate Charlie Blackmon, right
McMahon’s RBI single drove Colorado through Seattle in the first game of a doubleheader.
Tovar had three hits for the Rockies, including his RBI single that tied the score 1-1 in the 10th.
The teams spent much of the afternoon without taking advantage of excellent scoring opportunities. Through the first seven innings, Seattle and Colorado combined to leave 18 runners on base. They were 1 for 18 with runners in scoring position.
Colorado starter Cal Quantrill allowed three hits and struck out four in six scoreless innings. He was matched for much of his outing by Seattle starter George Kirby, who struck out seven and walked one in five scoreless innings.
The Mariners came out strong at the plate, scoring 24 runs during their four-game winning streak. Julio Rodríguez had two hits for Seattle, his fourth consecutive game with multiple hits.
The doubleheader was scheduled to make up for Friday’s postponement caused by bad weather.
