Replay review overturned Anthony Volpe’s apparent two-run homer in the sixth inning of Game 3 between the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees. Umpires ruled that a fan reached over the wall and touched the ball, awarding Volpe an RBI double.
The play came Wednesday at Yankee Stadium with two outs and George Lombard Jr. on first. Volpe drove the ball toward left field, where a fan caught it while reaching over the wall and into the field of play. Rays left fielder Victor Mesa Jr. was trying to make a play, but replay officials determined he would not have caught the ball.
MLB’s Replay Center also concluded that the ball would not have cleared the fence. Under the spectator-interference rule, the umpires judged that Volpe would have reached second base without the fan’s contact. Lombard, who was running on contact with two outs, was allowed to score. The play therefore produced one run instead of the two that a home run would have brought, cutting New York’s deficit to one.
Rays manager Kevin Cash argued that the call should have been changed to an out. After reviewing the available angles, the officials upheld the interference ruling and awarded Volpe a double. MLB’s game report said the Yankees ultimately lost 4-3 and were swept from the series, 3-0.
The decision recalled a famous October 1996 play in which 12-year-old Jeffrey Maier touched a ball hit by Derek Jeter during a Yankees postseason game against the Baltimore Orioles. That ball was ruled a home run, although a replay review might have shown fan interference. In 2026, video review allowed umpires to revisit a similar play.