The Pittsburgh Pirates’ losses are getting wilder with days. On Friday, they couldn’t score a single run in the top of the ninth despite loading the bases and lost the game 4-3 against the Colorado Rockies. Saturday had the same story with all bases loaded, but the Pirates still lost the game, albeit controversially. Jake Mangum scored a game-tying run, but the umpire called for a base-runner interference. Inning ended, and the Rockies took away the game. The fans, though, don’t agree with the call.

“Pirates tied the game until umpires got together and ruled baserunner interference, which ended the game,” Jomboy Media shared via X.

Mangum entered the ninth inning with two outs and all bases loaded. He hit a grounder to the Rockies’ 3B Kyle Karros, who fumbled to hold the ball, offering time to Mangum to cover the first. However, soon after the Pirates players started celebrating the game-tying score, Karros complained about an interference. And yes, the umpire crew agreed it was certainly an interference by Billy Cook.

Footage showed that Cook ran in between the incoming grounder and Karros, and his cleat might have touched Karros’ glove from behind. It seems unintentional, but the umpires called for an out due to interference. Homepark environment changed all of a sudden, and the Pirates’ manager Don Kelly entered the field arguing with the umpire, Todd Tichenor. However, with no chance of a review, the Pirates ultimately had to accept the defeat.

“They said that they got together and that Billy kicked his glove — which he did, looking at the replay,” Kelly said on the SportsNet Pittsburgh postgame show. “I just didn’t know if you saw that, why it wasn’t called immediately, why you had to get together to call it.”

Even Cook was left stunned by the call, but he admitted that it might have made contact with Karros’ glove. Cook called the result “unfortunate.” “I know that I can’t get hit by the ball, so I beat the ball,” Cook said. “No contact with the third baseman. I’m just running, and I guess he clipped my cleat just barely because I was past him. I was surprised that they didn’t call anything then; all of a sudden, they did.”

This marks the seventh consecutive loss for Paul Skenes and the second straight nine-inning loss for the Pirates. The fans, though, are yet to agree with the umpire’s call as they took to social media, venting out their frustration.

The Pirates fans are left unimpressed

What is a baserunner supposed to do other than run? Fans wonder. “Thats a horrible call. Especially to end a game. What was he supposed to do? Stop? MLB has some really stupid rules. If you’re past the fielder and the back of ur cleat accidentally hits the glove while running, thats on both of them. Fair game. Intentional, then yes ofc out,” one fan said. “Baserunner was running in the basepath without deviating or altering speed. He did nothing wrong. Fielder ran forward, arguably got in the way of the runner on the basepath. The fielder could have stopped six inches earlier, and there would have been no contact. Bad call,” another supported.

MLB’s Rule 6.01 states that baserunner interference occurs when an offensive runner physically hinders or confuses a fielder trying to field a batted ball or make a throw. The penalty is immediate: the ball becomes dead, the offending runner is called out, and all other runners return to their last legally touched base. In this case, the event was same but, and it was largely looked at as unintentional from Cook’s part.

Moreover, the Pirates fans also wonder why Karros didn’t wait for Cook to pass through. If a baserunner needs to go from behind a fielder, the chance of his getting out will be higher. “Wow… he was just running. It wasn’t intentional,” one more agreed.

“Absolutely horrendous call! The Pirates should have been able to challenge that! Almost as bad a call as the famous game that ended on an out at home plate in extra innings,” one user remarked.

According to MLB, baserunner interference calls strictly fall under umpire judgement, and hence, they cannot be challenged or reviewed. The rule relies on the umpire’s subjective assessment of a runner’s intent, body language, and whether their actions naturally hindered a fielder. Maybe that’s another reminder why ABS needs to be implemented in a more holistic way in MLB. 

“If Karros isn’t drilled in his first AB today, Pittsburgh is comprised of nothing but p——,” one fan said.

All eyes will be on Karros in the third game tonight. The Pirates’ pitchers are targeting him, and a few hit-by-pitches are highly likely, escalating to the next level. But again, that’s MLB, and that’s how the rivalry grows on.