With the Mets down 6-5 in the 9th, bases loaded (Castillo on 3rd, Murphy on 2nd, Francoeur on 1st) and Sheffield hitting...
Sheffield lines a ball to [Victorino] in center field, who ... make[s] a highlight-reel, over-the-shoulder catch before tumbling to the ground. The umpires haven’t made an out call yet ... As a result, the baserunners are still running the bases. Once the umpires make the out call, Raul Ibañez takes the ball out of Victorino’s glove ... and throws to ... Jimmy Rollins, who tags Murphy trying to get back to second and then tags Francoeur.
This looks like a triple play with the game ending once Francoeur is tagged out. However, Castillo scored from third base long before the second and third outs were made. Once Rollins tagged Murphy, the force was removed on Castillo. Therefore, his run would count since it scored before the third out was made. ... Charlie Manuel notices that Castillo also left third base early. Therefore, he instructs the team to go back onto the field for an appeal play at third. When Pedro Feliz steps on third, the third base umpire calls Castillo out for leaving the base too early. This is the "fourth out" of the inning and prevents the Mets from tying the game. Had the "fourth out" not been made, Castillo would have scored a legal run and the game would have gone into extra innings with score tied 6-6.
WOW!
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