Jackson Chourio guns down Liam Hicks at home in Game 2

The setup: 2 outs, top of the 6th, a single to left, and a third base coach who looked at Chourio's arm and decided to roll the dice anyway.

Barstool Baseball

@StoolBaseball

JACKSON CHOURIO NAILS HICKS AT THE PLATE

Here's the case for the send: with 2 outs, you take your shot, because the next guy might not get a hit. That's fine on paper. The problem is Hicks was out by a country mile, as CBS Sports put it, and the throw didn't need to be perfect. It was close to perfect anyway. Contreras did his job too, catching it in the lane and putting the tag down before Hicks got anywhere near the plate.

Tampa Bay challenged, hoping to get the run back with the home plate collision rule since Contreras had moved into the runner's path. It went nowhere. MLB's replay explanation said the catcher's setup was legal, that he only moved into the lane to follow the throw, and the line that really hurt: Hicks would have been out no matter where Contreras was standing.

Joel Sherman

@Joelsherman1

From MLB on Rays challenge of Chourio throwing out Hicks to end top of the sixth inning with tag by Contreras: Supervisor Explanation After viewing all relevant angles, the Replay Official definitively determined that no violation of the Home Plate Collision Rule occurred. The catcher's initial setup was legal and he moved into the lane in reaction to the trajectory of the incoming throw. Additionally, the runner would have been out regardless of the catcher’s positioning. The call isCONFIRMED, it is not a violation.

That's the play that matters most, because of what happened next. Tampa Bay put up 4 runs in the 1st and still had a 1-run lead when Hicks got sent. Then the Brewers kept coming. Cooper Pratt hit the go-ahead single in the bottom of the 7th, and Milwaukee held on to win 5-4 and go up 2-0. If that run scores, the Rays are up 2 and the whole comeback looks different.

Nobody online was confused about how close it was. The replays went around immediately, and the call in the booth was every bit as harsh as you'd expect.

Talkin' Baseball

@TalkinBaseball_

"OUT BY A MILE AND A HALF"

It also wasn't a one-off. CBS Sports counted the Hicks send as Tampa Bay's 4th baserunning mistake in 2 World Series games, and Kevin Cash didn't argue the point afterward: "We didn't play our cleanest baseball game by any stretch." When your whole identity is doing the little things right, giving away outs on the bases in October is the worst way to lose.

A full day later people are still talking about the send. The baseball internet is still going back over that one decision at third, and it should.

Jomboy Media

@JomboyMedia

Still thinking about that third base coach's send

The series goes to Tropicana Field for Game 3 on Monday at 8 ET on FOX. The Rays need a win, and they need to stop giving away outs. Their 3rd base coach could probably use a quiet night. Milwaukee's outfield has already let everyone know that running on Chourio is a bad idea.