The Texas Rangers and Washington Nationals put the replay machine to work early and often Sunday afternoon.
The top of the first inning of the interleague matchup ended on a controversial call when Rangers outfielder Alex Rios was called out at second base after over-sliding on a stolen-base attempt. Elvis Andrus darted home from third on the play, though, and it was initially ruled that he had crossed home plate before the tag was applied on Rios, giving the Texas the first lead of the game.
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Nationals manager Matt Williams challenged the call, and the run was disallowed after video clearly showed that Rios had been tagged long before Andrus trotted across home plate.
Rangers skipper Ron Washington had his own issues with the play, however, and he exited the dugout to call for another challenge. Washington argued that Rios’ foot never came off the bag at second, meaning the run should count and the inning should continue.
That challenge would not prove successful, as the umpires correctly determined that the baserunner was indeed out. According to MLB officials, it was the first time in the replay era that two challenges were issued on the same play.
The game remained scoreless until Rangers center fielder Leonys Martin broke the deadlock with a solo home run in the seventh. Texas tacked on another run in the eighth to win 2-0 and salvage the finale of the three-game series.
