Why umpires – After Toronto’s go-ahead rally in the sixth inning, a controversial safe call at second involving Ernie Clement and Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson stood as run scored and the inning continued. Second-base umpire Nic Lentz explained why Clement was ruled sa
The sixth inning started the way the Baltimore Orioles wanted it to—until Ernie Clement changed the geometry of the play.
With one out and runners on the corners, Brandon Valenzuela hit a soft ground ball to Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson. As Henderson fielded it, Clement—running at first for Toronto—altered his route toward second. He veered out of reach of Henderson. the kind of shift that can turn a routine routine grounder into an argument at full speed.
Henderson stepped toward Clement and moved his glove as if to apply a tag, but he didn’t go all the way through with it. Instead, Henderson threw to first for the out on Valenzuela.
That’s when the call flipped the room. Umpires ruled Clement safe at second. Immediately. Henderson. first baseman Pete Alonso. and pitcher Shane Baz pleaded Baltimore’s case. and manager Craig Albernaz sprinted out of the dugout to argue the ruling. But second-base umpire Nic Lentz stood by his call, with the inning continuing and the run counting.
From there, Toronto didn’t just hold the advantage—it built on it. The Blue Jays added three more runs and ultimately won 6-4.
Lentz spoke with a pool reporter after the game and framed the decision around the baseline itself.
“The runner has a right to establish his basepath. And so. Clement had established his basepath to avoid the fielder from potential interference. ” Lentz said. per MLB.com’s Jake Rill. “And even though that Henderson reached out for a tag. Clement’s basepath was already established out there going to 2nd base. So therefore, it was not out of the baseline.”.
He also explained the rule as it applies in these split-second moments.
“Any runner is out when he runs more than three feet away from his base path to avoid being tagged unless his action is to avoid interference with a fielder fielding a batted ball. A runner’s base path is established when the tag attempt occurs and is a straight line from the runner to the base he is attempting to reach safely.”.
In other words, Clement wasn’t ruled out because he wasn’t judged to have abandoned the baseline after it was established. Lentz said the key was that Clement established his path as Henderson first fielded the ball.
Clement described it the same way: it wasn’t a reckless detour so much as a lane he believed he could create early enough to stay on the right side of the rule.
“The runner gets to create their own lane. I guess I created it early enough to where I wasn’t out of the base path,” Clement explained. “It’s really umpire discretion, I think you’ve got to try not to get tagged in that situation and stay out of the double play.”
After the game, home-plate umpire and crew chief Hunter Wendelstedt added more detail to the same idea—how the runner’s movement was meant to give the fielder room, and how Henderson’s attempt played into it.
“(Clement) was vacating an area to let the fielder field it, and then the fielder just tried to, you know, was hoping and praying, throwing up the Hail Mary to try and get two,” Wendelstedt said, per the Baltimore Banner’s Andy Kotska.
The Orioles didn’t make it easy for the moment to fade, and the frustration was clear from the first wave of arguing—then again in the words that followed.
Henderson said he wasn’t willing to chase Clement into the outfield when he believed the play could become a double play.
“I’m not going to go chase him into right field when I’m trying to turn a double play there. ” Henderson said. “He’s only allotted so many feet to be considered in the baseline. and if you make a loop and a slide to where you can’t even reach second base in the next two steps. I don’t really understand that.”.
Baz, who was pulled in the middle of the sixth inning and shouted at Lentz on his way off the field, refused to comment on the play.
“Because (he) will get fined.”
By the time the dust settled, the Orioles had dropped to 31-35 in the loss—still left to wonder how close a runner can skate to the edge of a basepath and come out safe when the inning’s most important pitch was already in motion.
Blue Jays Orioles Ernie Clement Nic Lentz Gunnar Henderson Brandon Valenzuela Pete Alonso Shane Baz Craig Albernaz Hunter Wendelstedt MLB
Ump was on crack with that safe call.
Seems like one of those calls where everyone argues but it’s “right” somehow. If they can see his basepath then why not just say it earlier.
Wait so Clement was just allowed to change his route and that’s the whole thing? I thought if you run out of the way you still can get tagged, but I guess baseball rules are like spaghetti. Also how did they flip it from “tag” to “safe” that fast??
Blue Jays always get these calls… or maybe Orioles just always complain? The article says baseline and basepath and I’m still confused, like what counts as “established.” If Henderson reached out with a glove then he should’ve tagged him, no? Anyway Toronto scored a bunch after so of course everyone’s mad.