TEMPE, Ariz. —
With the bases loaded and one out in the eighth inning, Romine, playing second base, dropped the ball while trying to turn a double play. The play was initially ruled a force out, but the call was overturned after an instant-replay review, the umpires determining Romine did not have possession of the ball.
"The way I understand it is we're supposed to have the transfer clearly in the hand," Kendrick said. "But sometimes on the transfer, you miss the ball. It hits your wrist instead of your palm, and the ball falls out. It happens all the time."
Manager
"But they're going to be tighter on the transfer," Scioscia said. "If that balances out, we'll see. But the way it was called on Romy yesterday has never been called in 40 years of baseball. … Evidently, they're going to call that much closer."