TORONTO – Josh Naylor wants to win Game 7 of the American League Championship Series so badly, he’s willing to take a baseball off the helmet from close range.
On a potential double-play ground ball off the bat of Jorge Polanco in the top of the first, Naylor left his feet and turned his head as Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Ernie Clement – who cut off shortstop Andrés Giménez to field the ball – threw to first to complete a 5-3 double play.
The ball ricocheted into foul ground and Polanco was originally called safe.
But after a conference among the six umpires – with Blue Jays manager John Schneider lurking just outside the scrum – the umpires ruled interference and both runners were out.
Seattle manager Dan Wilson emerged very briefly from the dugout but quickly dropped his argument.
Baseball rules allow a runner to go into a base standing up – at their own risk – but cannot interfere with a throw. Naylor – who moments earlier hit an RBI single to give Seattle a 1-0 lead – clearly left his feet, even as his vertical leap won’t make anyone forget Shawn Kemp.
Naylor’s maneuver did not endear him to former Cleveland teammate Shane Bieber, acquired at the trade deadline for big games like this. Bieber incredulously cursed at Naylor, asking, in so many words, what exactly he was doing there.
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