Breaking Down Manny Machado Interference Play: Should Dodgers Have Argued For Him to Be Out?

Over the past two games, several things have gone wrong for the Los Angeles Dodgers which has resulted in back-to-back losses.

But, there is one play that stands out above the rest.

When San Diego third baseman Manny Machado kicked off the bottom of the second inning with a single on Tuesday, the Dodgers briefly fell apart.

Jackson Merrill followed with a grounder to Freddie Freeman at first, but Freeman’s throw hit Machado on the shoulder and rolled into left field. Machado made it to third, putting runners on the corners for San Diego.

He was deliberately on the edge of the grass when the ball hit him and, depending on the angle, he was completely in it.

According to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, the play was perfectly legal because runners can create their own path until a throw is made. Machado was heading back toward the bag when the ball struck him.

However, Dodgers shortstop Miguel Rojas felt the play should’ve been called an out in favor of the Dodgers. Rojas understands the role of saying that the runner has to establish a lane which he did early by running on the dirt. Machado made a last-minute move to his left and into the grass which makes it a judgment call if he gets hit by the ball.

“I was talking to the umpire,” Rojas added, “but he told me that he wasn’t looking at the runner. He was looking at the play at second base.”

Freeman, however, mentioned that they’re coached to do the exact same thing during spring training. Catcher Will Smith chimed in, saying it’s a tactic the team used all season long.

“You can’t appeal it,” Roberts said. “And the thing is, from my vantage point, it’s not a replayable challenge play. Manny, you can create your own basepath if you’re not avoiding a tag. And it was a heady play.”

While Roberts is correct about it not being a reviewable play, he could have and should have asked the umpires to talk about it. Especially when the umpire at second base admitted to Rojas that he didn’t see where Machado was because if one of the other umpires saw it then Machado should have been ruled out. According to rule 6.01(a)(10), “It is interference by a batter or runner when they fail to avoid a fielder who is attempting to field a batted ball, or intentionally interfere with a thrown ball.”

If Roberts didn’t see it, then someone else in the dugout should have spoken up because that play derailed the inning and the Padres went on to score all six runs before the Dodgers could record three outs.

FS1 Studio Analyst Alex Rodriguez had the best analysis of the play saying that Freeman should have hit Machado square in the back between the numbers for him to be out.

After that play, things really started to unravel for the Dodgers. Rojas made an unusual error on the very next play while trying to turn a double play on Xander Bogaerts. Instead, Jackson Merrill got to second before Rojas, and Bogaerts beat the throw to first. The Dodgers should’ve at least gotten one out there, but they came away with nothing.

“I felt like the best way for us to get two outs there was that,” Rojas said. “But at the end of the day, you rethink about it and revisit the play, and all we needed was one out. I didn’t know that the whole thing was going to happen after that obviously, but getting one out there probably was the best option and I made a bad decision.”

While there is nothing the Dodgers can do about it at this point, it does serve as a lesson learned. Just because a play isn’t reviewable, doesn’t mean the umpire can’t be asked to discuss it, especially in a game with high stakes.