Rays Sweep Yankees 4-3 as Replay Turns Volpe's Game-Tying Homer Into a Double

Since the Yankees knocked out Boston in the Wild Card Series, their October path led through Tampa Bay, and it ended there Wednesday night. The Rays beat New York 4-3 at Yankee Stadium on Oct. 7 to complete a three-game sweep of the ALDS.

The game turned on one swing that did not count.

The sixth inning

Tampa Bay led 4-2. Victor Mesa Jr. had just put the Rays up by two with a two-run homer off Max Fried into the right-field bleachers. Fried gave up four runs on seven hits, including a solo shot to Ryan Vilade and a two-run shot to Mesa.

In the bottom half, with George Lombard Jr. on first and two outs, Anthony Volpe drove a 1-0 sinker from Griffin Jax deep to left. Mesa leapt at the wall. The ball hit the hands of a fan leaning over the fence and went into the seats.

The building erupted. The scoreboard briefly read 4-4.

Then came the review. MLB's Replay Center issued a statement: "After viewing all relevant angles, the Replay Official definitively determined the spectator interfered with the ball over the field of play. The ball would not have left the playing field nor would it have been caught. The call is OVERTURNED, there was spectator interference and no home run."

The replay official scored Lombard and put Volpe on second. That made it 4-3. Volpe got a double instead of an out because the replay official determined Mesa would not have caught it even without the fan's hands. Spencer Jones struck out swinging, and Volpe was stranded.

Two sides of the call

Mesa complained to the umpires right away, according to USA Today's account of the play. Yankee Stadium booed the reversal loudly.

The Daily Mail reported that team officials and the NYPD escorted the fan out of the stadium.

Almost thirty years to the day

The moment echoed almost 30 years to the day after the most famous fan-interference play in Yankees history. On Oct. 9, 1996, 12-year-old Jeffrey Maier reached over the right-field wall at the old Yankee Stadium and deflected Derek Jeter's eighth-inning fly ball into the seats in Game 1 of the ALCS against Baltimore.

Umpire Rich Garcia ruled it a home run. Orioles right fielder Tony Tarasco said he was about to catch it. There was no replay review then. The Yankees won that game in 11 innings on a Bernie Williams homer, took the series and went on to win the World Series.

This time replay existed, and the ruling went the other way. Fans on social media drew the comparison within minutes. Ryan Ripken, son of former Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken Jr., posted: "At least this one went against the Yankees."

What the game cost

The Yankees pitched Fried even though his girlfriend is due to deliver their child any day. Fried said he would pitch no matter what. He did not get the outing the Yankees needed.

The overturned homer cost them one run in a one-run loss. Tampa Bay, the American League's best team this season, now moves on to the ALCS. Its opponent is the winner of the Guardians-White Sox series. The Yankees go home after a season in which they swept past Boston and then won nothing more.

The Rays' ALCS opponent will be set once that series ends.