Brayan Rocchio advances on interference call in Game 1 ALCS 2024

NEW YORK — In what was shaping up as a night to forget for the Guardians in Game 1 of the ALCS, the eighth inning provided a reminder of how quickly momentum can shift in the postseason.

After the Yankees were cruising for most of the night as they carried a four-run lead into the top of the eighth, commotion ensued when reliever Tim Hill fielded a throw from right fielder Juan Soto and twice crashed into Brayan Rocchio, who collided with Hill rounding first base and then again when he returned to the bag after his one-out single moved Andrés Giménez to third. Following a huddle by the six umpires on hand, Rocchio was awarded second base due to obstruction.

So what exactly constitutes obstruction? Per MLB Rule 6.01(h): If a play is being made on the obstructed runner, or if the batter-runner is obstructed before he touches first base, the ball is dead and all runners shall advance, without liability to be put out, to the bases they would have reached, in the umpire’s judgment, if there had been no obstruction. The obstructed runner shall be awarded at least one base beyond the base he had last legally touched before the obstruction. Any preceding runners, forced to advance by the award of bases as the penalty for obstruction, shall advance without liability to be put out.

Though the Guardians came up short in a 5-2 loss, the violation did have some implications by eating into New York’s bullpen. One batter later, Steven Kwan extended his postseason hitting streak to 11 games — surpassing Kenny Lofton for the longest streak in club history — by singling home Giménez, leading the Yankees to summon closer Luke Weaver for a five-out save.