Angels Manager Mike Scioscia irked by instant-replay ruling

A controversial call that was overturned by instant replay had no bearing on the outcome of the Angels’ 4-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Monday night, but Manager Mike Scioscia was still irritated by it after the game.

In the fifth inning, Mike Trout drove a ball to the top of the right-center-field wall that was initially ruled a two-run home run. After a lengthy review, replay officials in New York City ruled that a fan reached over the wall and interfered with the ball. Fan interference was called, and the hit was reduced to an RBI double.

Scioscia argued with first-base umpire Bob Davidson, who made the initial home run call, that the speedy Trout should at least be awarded a triple, and that dispute earned Scioscia his first ejection of the season and 37thof his career. When Scioscia watched replays of the call, he was even more upset.

“The replay that we saw ... I don’t know how they overturned the call, first of all,” Scioscia said. “If they called the ball a double [on the field], I could see where there’s a little argument that they couldn’t tell [from the replay].

“But they called it a home run. That ball was over the yellow line, no doubt, so I don’t know what they saw in New York. That’s part of the frustration I have with the whole system, the fact that there’s no way there was indisputable evidence that that ball was not a home run. No way.

“And more frustrating is not giving Mike a triple. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Mike hit a ball that high off the wall and not be standing on third base. So yeah, I was frustrated.”

Oakland Manager Bob Melvin, however, thought umpires were correct to award Trout a double.

“I didn’t think he was going to make it to third,” Melvin said. “I thought when the fan reached out and touched the ball, Trout was just past first base. That was my view.”