White Sox lose on controversial interference call in 9th
The Baltimore Orioles hung on for an 8-6 win over the Chicago White Sox after a bizarre call ended the game.
The White Sox scored four runs in the bottom of the ninth inning, cutting into an 8-2 deficit. Chicago had runners on first and second base with one out when Andrew Benintendi hit a pop-up on the infield that Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson recorded the out on the infield fly rule. However, after consulting, the umpires called White Sox first baseman Andrew Vaughn out for interfering with Henderson's ability to catch the ball.
Andrew Vaughn is called for interference after an infield fly rule. An Absolutely BRUTAL call to end the game.... pic.twitter.com/AyhCWwiHeY
— White Sox Talk (@NBCSWhiteSox) May 24, 2024
"So I was reading the play, saw the pop-up, knew it was an infield fly, read it, started shuffling back," Vaughn said postgame, per Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. Then, he (Henderson) kind of breezed by me on the right side, and then he went and made the play and the umpire called me out."
Vaughn added that he had never seen a play like that before in his career.
White Sox manager Pedro Grifol took issue with the call on the field, asking multiple umpires for clarification to no avail.
"I'm good with the way they called the play," Grifol said postgame, per James Fegan of Sox Machine. "I'm just not good with the rule."
The White Sox and Orioles will resume their four-game series on Friday night.