MINNEAPOLIS -- It looked like a game-saving play by Twins infielder Brooks Lee. Moments later, the tying and winning runs for the Brewers had scored and Minnesota manager Derek Shelton had been ejected.
A 3-2 Brewers win over the Twins on Friday night at Target Field turned in the blink of an eye on an obstruction call in the eighth inning, the pivotal moment of the go-ahead rally that propelled Milwaukee to its seventh win in the past eight games and to a season-high eight games over .500 (25-17).
“I think it’s a crappy way to lose a run if I’m on the other side, so I know what Shelton is feeling,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “I had that feeling last year.”
More on Milwaukee’s recent history with the obstruction rule in a moment, but first, Friday’s setup:
With runners on second and third, no outs, the infield in and the Twins clinging to a one-run lead, William Contreras hit a sharp grounder to shortstop. Lee fielded it cleanly and made the heads-up decision to throw to third, where Royce Lewis tagged Jackson Chourio as he retreated to the bag.
Third-base umpire Jordan Baker called Chourio out and Murphy immediately sprung out of the dugout to protest. But before he could say a word, Baker waved him off and convened an umpire conference. The crew determined that Lewis had obstructed Chourio in his attempt to get back to the base, as described in guidance sent to Major League umpires prior to the 2024 season in response to a trend of infielders positioning themselves in a way to make it more difficult to find a lane. Per that guidance, plays at the bases remained unreviewable, in contrast to blocking home plate.
Not only was Chourio not out, he was awarded the next base -- which is to say he scored the tying run.
“I felt like I made a little baserunning error there,” said Chourio via translator Daniel de Mondesert, “but then when I was trying to make the attempt back for the bag, his foot was right there and I didn’t have any chance to get my hand into the bag. I knew right then that it was pretty clear.”
Per rule 6.01(h):
“If a play is being made on the obstructed runner, or if the batter-runner is obstructed before he touches first base, the ball is dead and all runners shall advance, without liability to be put out, to the bases they would have reached, in the umpire’s judgment, if there had been no obstruction. The obstructed runner shall be awarded at least one base beyond the base he had last legally touched before the obstruction.”
Unsurprisingly, Shelton was out to argue immediately, and before long he had earned his third ejection of the season. He was frustrated that Baker had not called the obstruction immediately, and he and several Twins suggested that it should be a reviewable play.
“There was no intent on that right there,” Shelton said. “It was a reactionary play, catching, making a tag. And again, I think my largest issue is, if you feel that it’s obstruction there, you don’t call the guy out.”
There was little thought by anyone that Lewis was blocking the bag intentionally, though that’s immaterial to the ruling. He barely had time to think, only realizing as Lee was fielding the ball that the throw was even coming to him.
“We did a great job, man,” said Lewis. “We ran a great play. It happened so fast. It was one of those, it’s like clearly I didn’t have intent to block the bag. I didn’t even know where I was. I was just looking to catch the ball from Brooks and make a play, and it was an unfortunate call.”
The next batter, Jake Bauers, doubled in the go-ahead run for Milwaukee, sending rookie Andrew Morris to the defeat. It was a wild swing for Morris, who thought he’d gotten a lifeline in a tough situation, immediately to find that it had been rescinded.
“It’s a big emotional swing,” Morris said. “I was pumped, fist pump, and that was an awesome play. And then, it’s definitely a little deflating. It gets you in a tough situation.”
It especially stung on a night when Minnesota's infield played maybe its best game of the year. Lee made multiple strong plays, as did Lewis, and first baseman Kody Clemens corralled throw after throw on those plays. An infield defense that has been porous at times this year was not at all that -- and still a play in the infield cost the Twins.
The Brewers, meanwhile, won after solid work from spot starter Coleman Crow, a 25-year-old who is their No. 25 prospect and was called up for one outing for the second time this season. He didn’t allow a hit until the fifth inning and picked up a no-decision after pitching into the sixth.
After the Brewers took the lead, Abner Uribe protected a one-run lead in the eighth and Trevor Megill did the same in a 1-2-3 ninth for his fifth save of the season, sealing a victory for lefty reliever Aaron Ashby.
With more than one-quarter of the regular season in the books, Ashby remains MLB’s surprise leader with eight victories -- putting him on a 30-win pace.
“He’s got that noodle arm,” Megill said. “That definitely helps.”
For Murphy and the Brewers, the disputed ruling was a welcome change of pace, since they had grown used to being on the wrong side of obstruction calls. Twice in the span of about a week last May, they got burned on similar plays -- one charged against first baseman Rhys Hoskins on a back pick at first base against the Cubs, then a much more impactful call against third baseman Caleb Durbin against the Rays in Tampa on May 9.
Murphy argued the latter so vociferously that he was ejected from what became a 4-3 Brewers loss. So in this instance, he agreed with Shelton that the process of enforcing obstruction should be reconsidered.
“I just think we need more clarity,” Murphy said. “I always brag about how great MLB is about the rules. I mean, they do a great job of adjustments in the game and all of the things they’ve brought to the game. But this particular rule, it needs to be reviewable.
“It should be, in my humble opinion, if a guy has a chance to be safe and he was kept from getting to the base, then it’s [obstruction]. And it might be inadvertent. … But why not review that?”
What did he think when he saw it play out again on Friday night?
“I had a flashback,” Murphy said.