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GIF: Machado called out on rare “interference”

orioles player up at home plate with pitcher on mound
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As the old saying goes, “when it rains, it pours.” Right now, the bad baseball – and even worse luck – is coming down in buckets in Baltimore.

The latest example(s) of things not going the Birds’ way came last night in an 8-4 loss to the Texas Rangers. It was the O’s fifth loss in their last six games as they continue to limp toward the All-Star break.

Trailing 7-4 entering the bottom of the seventh inning, the Birds needed baserunners if they hoped to stage any sort of attempt at a comeback. The good news was that the top of the lineup was coming to the plate.

Nick Markakis worked an easy four-pitch walk to start the frame – so far, so good. That was enough to chase Rangers starter Martin Perez from the game. Jason Frasor entered to pitch to Manny Machado and quickly fell behind the young phenom 3-1.

Birdland was feeling the rally.

But then, Machado uncharacteristically got very passive and watched the next two pitches go by for strikes. As he was called out looking, he started to walk back toward the dugout – modus operandi as far as post-strikeout protocol goes. Unfortunately for him, Nick Markakis had, oddly enough, chosen THIS as the perfect time to attempt to pick up his first stolen base of the season (Nick was 0/2 on SB coming into the game).

Things looked good at first though, as Nick slid into second easily, well ahead of the throw from Rangers catcher A.J. Pierzynski.

However, home plate ump Fielden Culbreth ruled that Machado impeded Pierzynski’s throw attempt, and called Markakis out.

Here’s how it went down:

While it was obvious to all watching that Pierzynski had no chance of throwing out Nick whether Machado was in section 374 or in his lap, that didn’t matter. The rule book explains the call as such:

7.09 It is interference when ) Any batter or runner who has just been put out hinders or impedes any following play being made on a runner.

Pierzynski – still one of the biggest slimeballs in MLB – helped things out by acting like he was hit by a grenade when his arm brushed Manny’s, but the fact of the matter is that Culbreth technically got the call right. Showalter came out to argue, but to no avail.

After the game, Buck made sure to give a “nod” to A.J.’s acting skills, per Daniel Gallen of the Sun.

“Certain catchers who have been around a while understand that if you don’t have a play at second, you invite some contact,” Showalter said. “It’s one of those things. [He] got the call right by the way it’s designed. That certainly didn’t beat us.”

Machado said that he thought the pitch was low, so he was preparing to take first base.

“It’s a tough call, it could have gone either way,” Machado said. “I honestly thought it was a ball so I took a step and I was about to toss my bat. If I would have tossed my bat I would have hit him right in the shin. He came up to me, and he did what he needed to do as a catcher, and the umpire called it.”

Again – when things are going wrong, they’re going REALLY wrong.

Later on, the luck stayed the same. In the top of the ninth, Darren O’Day came on to get some work in, and to try to keep the deficit at three. He allowed a single and a double, but Ian Kinsler was cut down at home plate by Adam Jones and J.J. Hardy, and O’Day looked poised to skate out of the jam.

O’Day sawed off Adrian Beltre, who finished the night with two HR and five RBI, on a soft looper to center.

Of course, it fell in, scoring Texas’ eighth and final run.

O’Day, like O’s fans, just had to laugh, so as to avoid crying.

GIFs c/o Gordon Dixon.

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