NEW YORK -- Fan interference was called in the sixth inning of Wednesday night's American League Division Series Game 3 at Yankee Stadium, altering a would-be tying two-run homer by second baseman Anthony Volpe into a run-scoring double.
With the New York Yankees' George Lombard Jr. at first base, Volpe lifted a long fly ball to left field and Tampa Bay Rays left fielder Victor Mesa Jr. drifted backward to the fence, with the ball seemingly being pushed by a wind blowing from right field to left. Mesa jumped near the fence, and when the ball disappeared into the stands, Yankee Stadium erupted with cheers for what was initially ruled a tying home run.
But with Mesa pleading for fan interference, the umpires gathered on the infield and determined that a crew review was needed. Replay showed that a fan in a navy blue Yankees jacket reached beyond the fence for the ball, seemingly into the field of play, with the ball ricocheting off the fan's hands and into the stands.
As the video of the play was shown, Rays third baseman Junior Caminero waved his arms, as if to wave off Volpe's home run.
Volpe waited out the uncertainty like everyone else.
"Just hoping for the best," he said. "Crazy."
Crew chief Dan Bellino informed the fans that interference was called -- an announcement greeted with a wave of boos. But Bellino continued by saying that Mesa would not have made the catch, and the replay center determined that Lombard would have scored, with Volpe getting credit for a double.
Major League Baseball's interference rule gives the umpires discretion to make that kind of ruling. Rather than a tie score, the Rays held a 4-3 lead -- which is how the game ended, as Tampa Bay swept the best-of-five series to move into the AL Championship Series.
"After viewing all relevant angles, the Replay Official definitively determined the spectator interfered with the ball over the field of play," MLB said in a statement. "The ball would not have left the playing field nor would it have been caught. The call was overturned, there was spectator interference and no home run. Additionally, the Replay Official scored one run and placed the batter-runner at 2B."
The fan who reached out to catch the ball was escorted out of Yankee Stadium by security and police. There was another slight delay after some fans in left threw debris onto the field.
"It was interference," Mesa said in Spanish. "I believe I might have even been able to get to that ball. Not that it matters whether we won or lost. Well, it's in the past now. I think they could have even called an out, because I was right there. Everything happens for a reason. It was kind of an in-between call."
Players and managers on both sides mostly agreed that the right decision was made.
"I thought they got it right," New York skipper Aaron Boone said. "When he hit it, to my eye looking out there, I was a little concerned right away because it felt like something -- I wasn't sure. And then seeing the replay and seeing it unfold, I thought they did the right thing."
Said Rays manager Kevin Cash: "I don't know if he would have caught it or not caught it, the guy would have scored or not. Our replay official Nick [Rogers] said the runner had passed second base at the point where the ball hit the fan's wrist or hand, and makes sense why they awarded him home."
Aaron Judge knew once he saw the side-angle replay that it was fan interference. He and his teammates had to deal with that reality.
"He almost had a big home run," Judge said. "Off the bat, I liked the chances."
"You go from a tie game to down one," said starting pitcher Max Fried, who gave up a two-run homer to Mesa in the top of the sixth. "[Volpe] made a great swing, and it's just the way the game goes sometimes. It's unfortunate because that changes the game."
The play added to the history of fan interference in Yankees playoff games.
During the 1996 playoffs, young fan Jeffrey Maier carved a place in Yankees history by reaching over Baltimore Orioles right fielder Tony Tarasco for a long fly hit by Derek Jeter. Rich Garcia, the right-field umpire in that game, ruled no interference, and the Orioles erupted angrily, with manager Davey Johnson and Tarasco arguing furiously that Tarasco would have caught the ball. There was no replay review in MLB at that time, and Jeter's home run stood.
"I mean, we lost," Volpe said of Wednesday's call. "That's what we're dealing with now. That's just what happened."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.