Former major league outfielder Darryl Hamilton, now an on-field operations official for the commissioner's office, was at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday to address a controversial play in the sixth inning of Tuesday night's game.
When the Dodgers' Casey Blake hit a double down the left field line, the Giants' Fred Lewis tried to field the ball but instead flicked it onto a wide, flat surface atop the retaining wall in front of the stands. Third base umpire Angel Campos ruled that the ball went out of play after Lewis touched it, awarding an extra base to Blake and to James Loney, who had been on first and was allowed to score. But it isn't clear whether the ball went out of play when it hit the flat surface. It appeared to roll off the surface toward the stands just before Lewis finally picked it up, and a fan in the front row might or might not have touched it.
The flat surface didn't exist before 2005, when several rows of premium seats were added down each line. The old wall was too narrow for a ball to land on top of it. But apparently, the ground rules -- which Hamilton said vary from ballpark to ballpark -- were never revised after that 2005 renovation to account for the difference.
Hamilton said the on-field operations staff discussed the play at length during its weekly conference call Wednesday. He also said the Dodger Stadium ground rules would be updated to clarify whether the flat surface is in play or out of play.
DODGERS 4, GIANTS 0: Chad Billingsley, a third-year major-leaguer, continued to cement himself as the unquestioned ace of the Dodgers' veteran-laden rotation, pitching his second career complete game and first career shutout, a five-hitter. Andre Ethier preserved the shutout by gunning down Jose Castillo at the plate to end the game. Russell Martin had two RBI singles. Jeff Kent had an RBI double, and James Loney had a sacrifice fly.
