Toronto Blue Jays react to wild umpire call that paused game for 20 minutes

A bizarre play in the top of the seventh inning on Monday night at the Rogers Centre left players, managers, broadcasters, and even the umpires wondering what had just happened.

Blue Jays pitcher Simeon Woods Richardson was on the mound with runners on first and third and one out when Boston Red Sox outfielder Ceddanne Rafaela popped a ball up into deep centre field.

The catch from Blue Jays centre fielder Brett Bateman should have been the second out of the inning, but that's when things got confusing — quickly.

Instead of the Red Sox runner on third tagging up and waiting for the ball to be caught before heading home, he took off without tagging, apparently thinking there were already two outs.

A broken scoreboard in Toronto caused the Red Sox and Blue Jays to lose track of the outs in the seventh inning

Umpires called for a rules check on a "time play", then allowed the runner on third to score despite not having tagged up due to the "fourth out rule" pic.twitter.com/dyqxbfeABX

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) August 11, 2026

The runner on first did the same thing.

Toronto then doubled off the runner at first to end the inning, but the umpires weren't quite sure what had just transpired.

More confusion

After a series of back-and-forth discussions between the Toronto and Boston dugouts, the umpires eventually contacted MLB's replay and rules officials in New York for some clarification. 

Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy argued that the Rogers Centre videoboard had incorrectly displayed two outs during Rafaela's at-bat, which apparently confused his players who were on base.

The score and game information fans see displayed on MLB stadium videoboards is controlled by league officials, meaning the league lost track of the number of outs. 

The verdict and reaction

After roughly a 20-minute delay, the umpires ruled that Boston was awarded a run because the runner from third had crossed home plate before the runner from first was called out.

Toronto also left the field after making the third out at first; in doing so, they lost their ability to appeal the runner leaving third base, resulting in a Boston run.

If the Blue Jays had thrown the ball to third (instead of first), the run would not have counted.

"It was confusing," said Blue Jays manager John Schneider to reporters post-game.

"Since Boston didn't challenge the play immediately, it did not give us a chance to appeal. The rule is the rule, though it's the first time I've seen this.

"When that play happens again in the next 100 years, if it's us, we will record the lead out at third."

Toronto Blue Jays veteran Max Scherzer appeared animated on the broadcast, indicating that the umpires had waved the Blue Jays off the field before they had the chance to get the out at third.
 

Reason for the run: the Blue Jays "left the field" without appealing to 3rd.

Rule 5.09(c)(4): Appeal plays may require an umpire to recognize an apparent “fourth out.” If the third out is made during a play in which an appeal play is sustained on another runner, the appeal… pic.twitter.com/9b3GNFGsBa

— NESN (@NESN) August 11, 2026

Tracy, who has played and managed in more than 1,000 games at the major and minor league level, called the sequence "strange" after the game and said it was something he had never seen before.

Only twice in the last 20 years has a play like the one on Monday night happened. Though the bizarre call did not benefit either team.

Toronto could have ended the inning without allowing a run if the ball had been thrown to third instead of first, while Boston could have scored the run and still had a runner on first with two outs if everyone had been aware that there was only one out.

Fortunately for the Blue Jays, the strange call didn't have much of an impact on the rest of the game. Toronto held on to win 2-1 over its AL East rival to open an important four-game homestand at the Rogers Centre.