We have another instant replay First — the Pittsburgh Pirates are the first team to win a game directly as a result of challenging a play on the field. Starling Marte hit a two-out triple in the bottom of the 9th, and tried to score when Ehire Adrianza threw the ball away. After initially being called out at home, replay showed that Buster Posey wasn’t able to make contact on the swipe tag until after Marte’s hand hit home (in a fun twist, if it weren’t for another new rule — the one nicknamed after him — Posey could have blocked the plate and possibly sent the game into extras).
While a delayed walkoff celebration isn’t as fun as an instant one, at least game-changing calls are being corrected. And I’m sure the Pirates would much rather wait a few minutes to celebrate than get a repeat of the infamous Jerry Meals call.
