The Philadelphia Phillies notched a rare kind of win against the Boston Red Sox on Monday night that baseball hasn’t seen in over half a century. The Phillies’ 3-2 win came as a complete surprise, as it was far from any ordinary win. It was actually fueled by an obscure rule triggered by Edmundo Sosa in an extra-inning showdown.
During the tenth inning, when Sosa began to swing on a pitch that was nowhere near the strike zone, it prompted him to go and check his swing himself. He’d thank him later for doing so.
As he checked, he saw that he had, in fact, made clear contact with Carlos Narvaez’s glove. It allowed the winning run to score without any ball in play. A review later, Brandon Marsh and the Phillies went home with the one-run win, celebrating wildly right there in the field.
The Phillies walk off the Red Sox on CATCHERS INTERFERENCE in extras! pic.twitter.com/b1lK6Vj8sw
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) July 22, 2025
As wild and iconic as it was, it was rare. This marked only the second walk-off catcher’s interference call. The first? In 1971.
In the fourth inning, the Phillies secured the two-run lead after RBI singles from Nick Castellanos and J.T. Realmuto. Some time later, the Red Sox tied the score when Trevor Story hit an RBI single. That’s what led to pushing things into extra innings.
Now, after a 3-2 loss, the Red Sox have dropped to 54-48. They have lost three of their last four games. Before this mini-slump, the Red Sox were riding high on an impressive 10-game winning streak. And Phillies?
They are comfortably leading the NL East with a 57-43 record.
By the end of Monday night, it was not the win, but Sosa’s unconventional way that worked out pretty well. After all, it led to leaving the Red Sox in pure disbelief. For what it’s worth, this isn’t the first time that an obscure rule has taken center stage.
Confusion with another obscure rule during the Dodgers-Mets game
Before the Phillies-Red Sox game, another such wild and confusing moment unfolded in May. The New York Mets hosted the Los Angeles Dodgers, and what happened by the end of the night had everyone wide-eyed and confused, except for the umpires. After all, only they knew the rules.
Dodgers’ phenom Mookie Betts had taken over the plate in the third inning. At the same time, Michael Conforto was on second, and Shohei Ohtani was on first. Then Betts had hit a soaring high fly ball straight into the right center field.
That’s when the former Yankee, Juan Soto, with another Mets outfielder, Tyrone Taylor, attempted to make the catch. Unfortunately, they collapsed, and as a result, the ball went out of Taylor’s glove. He juggled for a while but eventually got a grip on the ball for the out, catching it with a bare hand.
During the process, Conforto tagged up and made it swiftly from second to third base. Ohtani also made it to second, and Taylor threw the ball to second base and seemed to beat Ohtani. That too, with a massive margin. However, it shook the Mets when the umpire called Ohtani “safe.”
According to the Mets, they pulled off a double play. They believed that Conforto left the second base a bit too early (before the catch) and that Ohtani was clearly out at second base. With all the confusion, the Mets instantly challenged the call, hoping for a reversal.
The review also confirmed that Ohtani was indeed safe, and consequently, the double play was rejected. To clear the air, former MLB umpire and rules analyst Ben Gorman shed light on the matter. “The reason behind the touch, as opposed to when he eventually catches the ball, is that an outfielder can actually juggle the ball all the way in and prevent the guy from advancing. As soon as the ball hits the glove, he can take off.”
Since Confronto and Ohtani waited until Taylor could touch the ball, not until he grabbed it fully, the tag-ups turned out to be justified. Just like the Phillies-Red Sox game, this game was just another instance that reminds us how the baseball rulebook still has surprises up its sleeve. Anything else that you can remember?
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