LOS ANGELES (AP) — Referees barred Dodgers manager Dave Roberts from using a position player to pitch the ninth inning against the New York Mets on Saturday night, enforcing a rule that prevents teams use non-pitchers with a deficit of five runs or less. .
Roberts said he didn’t realize the rule was in place after it was initially approved before the 2020 season and then put on hold for two years amid pandemic-spurred rule adjustments.
“It’s a rule that’s obviously in place for 2022. They were talking about it in 2020,” he said. ”The goal posts have been moving a lot. It’s an oversight on my part, but I remember we did it last year. They had to check to make sure it was. They did well, the referees.”
With Los Angeles trailing 9-4, Roberts sent utility player Zach McKinstry to the mound to start the ninth, but McKinstry was stopped by umpires. A lengthy delay and discussion followed, with the referees wearing headsets to discuss the situation with the officials in New York.
Crew chief CB Bucknor announced that McKinstry would not be allowed to pitch, and right-hander Evan Phillips began warming up in the Dodgers’ bullpen.
Roberts inferred that Mets manager Buck Showalter demanded that the rule be enforced, but Showalter said the umpires acted without his intervention.
“I looked at the scoreboard and thought something was wrong,” Showalter said. “Nine minus four, what’s more than that?”
When the umpires signaled that Phillips needed to move his warm-up shots to the playing mound, bullpen coach Josh Bard ran out of the bullpen and yelled that Phillips wasn’t ready. Phillips was given unlimited time to warm up and the delay lasted around 11 minutes in total.
Showalter shook his head repeatedly and paced on the visitors’ bench during the delay. He walked onto the field to receive an explanation from the umpires after Bucknor’s announcement, but then said he wasn’t upset that Phillips was given full time to relax.
“I was wondering if the guy they brought in to pitch was eligible to play or was he burned,” Showalter said.
After position players made 90 pitching appearances in 2019 and 75 in 2018, Major League Baseball and the players’ association agreed before the 2020 season to ban the use of position players as pitchers in games with a five-run deficit. or less. The rule was suspended the past two years amid concerns about pitching injuries caused by the pandemic, but was reinstated this season.
McKinstry could have pitched in the ninth inning if he had been designated a two-way player, but the infielder, who was called up Thursday, is not. The Dodgers don’t have anyone designated as a two-way player. McKinstry was moved to third base in his place.
“Ideally, I would have liked to have Evan for two (tickets) tomorrow. I’m still trying to get a series win and not just keep the game close,” Roberts said.
Dodgers starter Walker Buehler had the shortest start of his career, allowing five runs in 2 1/3 innings, as Los Angeles ended up using seven pitchers. Phillips allowed one hit and struck out two in the ninth, and the The Dodgers lost 9-4.
___
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb Y https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
Anyone can read Conversations, but to contribute, you must be a registered Torstar account holder. If you don’t have a Torstar account yet, you can create one now (it’s free)
Reference-www.thestar.com