The Rangers' home opener on Monday was spoiled by the feisty Rockies, who were aided by a savvy challenge review by manager Bud Black.
The back-and-forth affair ended in extra innings -- on a relatively usual review-confirmed double play.
The Rangers, facing a two-run deficit in the 10th inning, seemed to plate a run on a botched relay throw by the Rockies when they tried to turn two on a ground ball hit by Adolis Garcia. The play would have cut the score to 6-5, and given the Rangers a runner in scoring position with two outs.
But instead, after Black's challenge, Texas' Mitch Garver was called for the force-play slide rule, meaning not only was Garver out at second, but Garcia was also out at first, ending the game. Garver was apparently deemed to have slid past the bag, in an illegal attempt to break up the double play.
The walk-off review was something of an anticlimactic ending, but the rule invoked to end the game has been on the books for several years.
The force-play slide rule, sometimes called the "Chase Utley" rule, was expanded prior to the 2016 season. The prior postseason, Utley had slid into Mets infielder Ruben Tejada while trying to break up a double play. Tejada suffered a broken leg on the hard slide, ending his season.
The rule has already been invoked at least once so far in 2022. On Friday, the Tigers' Jeimer Candelario was called out as part of an inning-ending double play when the umpires ruled he had slid past the bag and rolled into White Sox infielder Josh Harrison.
In 2016, the first year of the expanded rule, an Astros-Brewers game ended on a similar double play called after an illegal slide by Houston's Colby Rasmus.
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