The Buzz — Thursday, October 8

Anthony Volpe

The take Fan interference cost Volpe a tying homer in the elimination game

The stadium erupted, Volpe rounded the bases, and none of it counted the way it looked. Replay ruled a spectator reached over the left-field wall into the field of play — not a judgment call on fair or foul, but a definitive interference ruling that turned an apparent two-run homer into an RBI double. The score went to 4-3 instead of 4-4, and that one run was the final margin in a season-ending 4-3 loss.

The part the highlights skip: the Replay Official stated the ball would not have left the playing field on its own and the outfielder would not have caught it. The fan did not steal a home run so much as the chance to find out. Aaron Boone said the umpires 'did a good job with it' and 'got it right' — a manager accepting the correct call in the worst moment of his season. The Yankees were swept, and the call everyone will argue about was the right one.

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Andy Pages

The take Pages clutch single clinches Dodgers NLCS berth

Andy Pages was 0-for-7 to start this series and carried a 4-for-51 postseason history into Game 4. Then he came up with the bases loaded in the seventh inning of a 1-1 game and singled home two — the Dodgers' first hit with runners in scoring position the entire series — for a 3-1 lead they never gave back. The Braves were eliminated 4-1, and Los Angeles is going to its third straight NLCS. The hit that decided the series came from the coldest bat in the lineup.

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Victor Mesa Jr.

The take Mesa HR plus interference role sealed the Rays sweep

Last night at Yankee Stadium, Victor Mesa Jr. turned on a hanging sweeper from Max Fried and sent it 401 feet at 107.3 mph — his first career postseason home run, a two-run shot that gave the Rays a 4-2 lead in a game they won 4-3 to complete the sweep.

Mesa was designated for assignment by the Marlins, traded for a minor-league infielder, and called up by Tampa Bay in late May. Before that same sixth inning ended, he was the outfielder leaping at the left-field wall when a fan reached over his glove on Volpe's drive. Replay ruled fan interference, scored one run, and made it 4-3. The ruling preserved the lead. A 25-year-old rookie who had been designated for assignment delivered the swing that ended the Yankees' season and stood on the play that kept it ended.

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Ronald Acuña Jr.

The take Acuña tearful after quiet series in Braves elimination

Ronald Acuña Jr. sat at his locker after the loss with his shirt pulled over his head, and when he tried to take questions, his eyes welled up and he stopped. The Braves had just been eliminated 4-1 by the Dodgers, and Acuña knew where to put the blame. Through his interpreter he said, 'I feel like I did nothing to help the team this series... I'm supposed to be a spark plug for my team out there, and I never lit that fire. And so, extremely disappointed.'

The numbers do not argue with him. He went 2-for-15 in the NLDS with no home runs and no RBIs, finishing Game 4 0-for-3. Stretch the window and it gets worse: over his last 15 postseason games, he has not driven in a run. A smattering of boos followed his final groundout at Truist Park, and Acuña said the fans were within their rights because 'I didn't do anything.'

But the read that makes this one man's failure is letting the rest of the lineup go. The Braves hit .145 as a team and averaged two runs per game. Acuña, Matt Olson, and Drake Baldwin combined went 5-for-45 with no homers and one RBI. Acuña had right-knee soreness after jamming it sliding into second in Game 2 and was moved to DH for Game 3 — but he started in right field for Game 4 and said the knee was not a factor. He said exactly what was true: he did not produce. The tears were his. The collapse was shared.

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Manny Machado

The take Machado near-tying HR robbed in Padres elimination loss

Manny Machado hit a ball at 106.7 mph that Statcast projected at 406 feet — a two-run shot that would have tied the game at 3 in the eighth inning of an elimination game. Garrett Mitchell caught it just above the short wall in right-center at Petco Park, and Machado's response was plain: 'It's just unfortunate, man. Nice play. Should have hit it harder.' The Padres managed three hits total in a 3-1 loss that ended their season. The catch on every highlight was a center fielder at the wall who made the play — and a season ended on a glove.

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