TORONTO — The Baltimore Orioles were heated in Sunday’s sixth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays. Pete Alonso yelled, walking toward second-base umpire Nic Lentz. Shane Baz and Gunnar Henderson screamed, too, and manager Craig Albernaz ran out of the dugout.Ernie Clement, running to second base on a groundball, had dodged to the right and avoided Henderson, who feigned a tag and threw the ball to first. The Orioles thought it should’ve been an inning-ending double play, with Clement moving out of the basepath. Instead, with Clement deemed safe at second, it continued a five-run Jays comeback inning that helped them to a 6-4 win at home.
Orioles manager Craig Albernaz said umpires told him that Ernie Clement "established a baseline outside of his running path" and that Gunnar Henderson's tag attempt wasn't good enough on this play in the 6th inning.
(H/T: @JakeDRill) pic.twitter.com/5iMM2k2AG9
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) June 7, 2026Lentz and crew chief Hunter Wendelstedt, speaking to a pool reporter in Toronto after the game, stood by the call.“It actually is a very gentlemanly thing to do,” Wendelstedt said. “(Clement) was getting out of the way to allow the fielder to make the play towards first base. It just so happened that, you know, then they tried to spin it to get two (outs).”
