Arizona Runs into Double Play on Force Play Confusion - Teachable

Diamondbacks baserunners ran themselves into a crucial 9th inning double play as confusion on the bases moved Pittsburgh that much closer to a tense win in Arizona. 2B Umpire Adam Hamari is our focus for this Tmac's Teachable Moment.

With none out and the bases loaded in the top of the 9th, D-Backs batter Carson Kelly hit a ground ball to Pirates third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes, who threw to second baseman Rodolfo Castro, who stepped on second base before throwing back to third base, where Pirates shortstop Kevin Newman stepped on third base before running Arizona runner R2 Emmanuel Rivera back to second base and then tagging Rivera.

Despite initial confusion with an errant "safe" call, umpires correctly officiated the play by declaring both Arizona runners R1 Sergio Alcantara out on the force play at second base and declaring R2 Rivera out on a tag off of second base for a double play. Pirates F6 Newman's touch of third base proved immaterial, as Castro had already forced R1 Alcantara out at second base, removing the force from third.

But, by virtue of Alcantara remaining on the field at second base, preceding runner R2 Rivera hesitated to retouch second base, allowing Pittsburgh fielder Newman enough time to tag Rivera off the base for the second out of the inning, with Alcantara serving as the first out.

Video as follows:

Alternate Link: Arizona runs itself into an out on force play confusion in Phoenix (CCS)