Angels lose challenge in key spot in ninth

ANAHEIM -- The Angels lost their first challenge of the season on Monday night, when Howie Kendrick was thrown out at first base on a bang-bang play with none on and one out in a one-run game in the bottom of the ninth.

Kendrick thought he was safe, and hardly thought it was debatable.

I thought I was safe, man, especially after seeing the replay on the [scoreboard]," the Angels' second baseman said. "I think one of the things with replay was that it was going to help with a lot of this stuff, and you're seeing calls around the league that have been wrong. And there's been a lot, too, that they've gotten right, so it's good and bad.

"But sometimes you have cases where you can see the obvious answer. They go back to replay, and whatever angle they have, with the technology that we have nowadays, you should be able to look at every angle. I think that technology is there. Tonight, I was called out. It happens. But at the same time, when we agreed to do replay and they agreed to do replay, I think we should work harder to get it right. Having the opportunity to do it, I think there's a lot of things that could be changed, and there's a lot of things that are right with it, too."

Trailing, 3-2, with one out in the ninth against A's reliever Luke Gregerson, Kendrick hit a slow roller to second baseman Nick Punto, who initially bobbled the ball before gathering himself and throwing to a fully extended Daric Barton. First-base umpire Chris Segal ruled Kendrick out, and Angels manager Mike Scioscia immediately came out of the dugout to notify Segal that he would use his first challenge of the season.

And after looking at camera angles for more than three minutes, nothing had changed.

"I just looked at it, and he was safe," Scioscia said after the loss. "I don't know if they're getting different angles or what's happening, but it's just an unfortunate thing of this process right now, and it's frustrating."

The official determination was that the play "stands" and not that it was "confirmed," which means there wasn't enough conclusive evidence to change the call on the field.

"The original call has some weight," Scioscia said, "but the replay I saw, and the angles, he's clearly safe."

Kendrick said he doesn't fault umpires, and pointed out that replay has led to some good calls. But overall, he's one of several in the Angels' clubhouse who's frustrated by the new system.

"They're trying to get it right, and I have no fault with that. But sometimes, when the play is that obvious, you don't understand why the call is the opposite way. … As a team and around the league, when we have one shot showing one thing, and then we get an answer of something completely different, it makes you wonder what angles they're looking at."