Gibson says lost challenge was worth a try

PHOENIX -- In baseball, the tie goes to the runner. D-backs left fielder Ender Inciarte thought he tied Reds pitcher Mike Leake to first, and so did his manager, Kirk Gibson.

But the umpire crew in New York was not so sure.

Inciarte was called out on a ground ball he hit into the right-side hole, and after the play was reviewed, the call stood, wiping out the D-backs' game-tying run in the sixth inning of their 6-4 loss to the Reds.

"I felt that I beat the throw," Inciarte said Saturday.

Gibson thinks that, too. He's been 2-for-8 on challenges this season.

"It was one of those we feel that probably should be overturned, but probably wasn't going to get overturned," Gibson said. "We're just trying to understand the whole dynamic."

Gibson didn't have much to lose with Friday's challenge and a lot to gain. Win, and the D-backs tie the game and the inning continues. Lose and the situation doesn't change, and he can request a review from the seventh inning on.

"Last night was a no-brainer," Gibson said. "We had a chance to score a run, had a chance to keep an inning going on … Even though we lost it, I lost my challenge, in all reality I still have the ability to [as for a] review the last three innings.

"That was an easy one."

There aren't any hard feelings from either Inciarte or Gibson, though.

"They're so close, in reality, if you look at the ones we've challenged," Gibson said. "They're so close and they're in super-slow motion. And even if you look at it, can you tell? The distinction is always in the clear-and-convincing part. Was the foot on the bag or was the ball in the glove?"