(Busch Stadium) It was not the night Adam Wainwright and the St. Louis Cardinals were looking for as the ace departed after only five innings of work. Wainwright allowed seven runs, only two of them earned, on nine hits with three strikeouts and three walks. He threw 96 pitches (62 strikes).
The key play came in the top of the 5th inning with one out as James Loney hit a shallow fly into left center. Both Jhonny Peralta and Greg Garcia gave chase, so Wainwright rushed over to cover third. He caught the relay throw and had his glove down in front of third base as Yoenis Cespedes slid into it–trapping it against the base with his cleats. In the same instant, Wainwright’s momentum carried him the other way and his hand slid out of the glove.
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The Cardinals challenged the play, but after review the call on the field was confirmed.
Major League Baseball Rule 2.0 defines a tag as…
“the action of a fielder in touching a base with his body while holding the ball securely and firmly in his hand or glove; or touching a runner with the ball, or with his hand or glove holding the ball (not including hanging laces alone), while holding the ball securely and firmly in his hand or glove.
“It is not a tag, however, if simultaneously or immediately following his touching a base or touching a runner, the fielder drops the ball. In establishing the validity of the tag, the fielder shall hold the ball long enough to prove that he has complete control of the ball. If the fielder has made a tag and drops the ball while in the act of making a throw following a tag, the tag shall be adjudged to have been made.”
photo credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
