ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - The umpires had another rough night in Game 4 of the AL championship series.
Two blown calls went against the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night during a 10-1 loss to the New York Yankees.
In the fourth inning, Dale Scott called New York's Nick Swisher safe at second base after Swisher was clearly tagged by shortstop Erick Aybar before he could get back to the bag on a pickoff throw by Scott Kazmir.
In the fifth, Swisher hit a comebacker to Darren Oliver, who immediately threw to the plate and got Jorge Posada caught in a rundown. Mike Napoli ran Posada back to the bag while Robinson Cano coasted into third, and the Angels' catcher ended up tagging both runners standing off the bag - first Cano, then Posada. But crew chief Tim McClelland ruled that only Posada was out.
"I thought Cano was on the base," said McClelland, a longtime veteran and one of baseball's most respected umpires.
He said the second replay showed that Cano was off the base when he was tagged.
"I did not see that for whatever reason," he said. "I'm just out there trying to do my job and do it the best I can."
The Angels did get a break in the fourth when Swisher was called out for leaving third base too soon on Johnny Damon's fly to center field. Swisher was called out on an appeal, resulting in an inning-ending double play - though replays appeared to show Swisher did not leave early.
"In my heart, I thought he left too soon," McClelland said. "But the replay showed that he didn't."
There was another disputed call in Game 1 at Yankee Stadium, when first base ump Laz Diaz ruled Torii Hunter out on his sixth-inning bunt. Angels manager Mike Scioscia argued that first baseman Mark Teixeira's foot came off the bag when he stretched for Sabathia's throw.
Missed calls and shaky umpiring have been an embarrassment for Major League Baseball throughout this postseason.
In the AL division series between the Angels and Boston Red Sox, there were several missed calls - including two by CB Bucknor at first base in Game 1.
In the Yankees-Minnesota series, Phil Cuzzi missed seeing Joe Mauer's ball land fair despite working the left-field line. Cuzzi called it foul, denying Minnesota's Mauer a leadoff double.
In the Phillies-Rockies series, plate umpire Jerry Meals wasn't able to determine that a ball hit into the ground by Philadelphia's Chase Utley had bounced up and struck the batter in the leg, ending up as a base hit. It should have been a foul ball.