San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado displayed remarkable game awareness during Saturday’s matchup against the Cincinnati Reds with a clever maneuver. In the fifth inning, Machado deliberately allowed a routine pop-up by Spencer Steer to drop, which enabled his team to execute an out on second base and neutralize Elly De La Cruz’s threatening speed on the bases. This decision prevented De La Cruz from advancing safely to first, while Steer was retired instead.

The purpose and conditions of the infield fly rule

The infield fly rule exists to stop infielders from tricking baserunners by intentionally dropping easy fly balls to create double plays unfairly. It is enforced by automatically calling the batter out when certain conditions are met, including the presence of runners on first and second base or bases loaded, and a catchable pop-up that can be handled by an infielder with ordinary effort.

Why the infield fly rule was not called in this scenario

In Machado’s case, umpires did not apply the infield fly rule because a double play could not be executed due to the absence of a runner on second base. This key condition for invoking the rule was not satisfied, meaning Machado’s choice to let the ball drop to remove the speedy De La Cruz was fully within the rules. Without runners on first and second or bases loaded, the infield fly rule does not come into effect.

Game developments following the play and its impact

Though the Padres successfully limited De La Cruz’s threat on the basepaths, the Reds capitalized later in the inning with Spencer Steer scoring on a sacrifice fly from Tyler Stephenson, giving Cincinnati a 4-1 lead. Nevertheless, San Diego mounted a strong response by scoring multiple runs in the sixth and seventh innings, including a decisive three-run rally in the seventh. Ultimately, Machado’s team secured a 6-4 victory, highlighting the significance of his high IQ play in shaping the game’s outcome.