Why didn't umpires call infield fly rule on Manny Machado in Reds game? All you need to know about the Padres star's high IQ decision

San Diego Padres star Manny Machado is one of the best third basemen in the game. Machado made a high IQ play during Saturday's game against the Cincinnati Reds.

The play occurred in the fifth inning when an easy pop-up from Spencer Steer was purposely allowed to drop by Machado. This allowed the Padres to force an out on second base. Machado did it to avoid Elly De La Cruz's electric speed on the basepaths. Had Machado caught the ball, De La Cruz would have remained safe at first while Steer would have retired.

Here's the video:

But one question that is coming to everyone's mind is why the umpires didn't invoke the infield fly rule.

What is the infield fly rule?

The infield fly rule is designed to prevent infielders from deceiving baserunners by intentionally dropping an easy fly ball to turn a double play. The rule automatically calls the batter out when:

There are runners on first and second, or bases loaded,
There are fewer than two outs, and
The ball is a routine popup that can be caught by an infielder with ordinary effort.

Why the infield fly rule didn’t apply here?

Coming back to the play by Machado, the reason why the umpires didn't invoke the infield fly rule was because a double play wasn't possible since there wasn’t a runner on second.

That eliminates one of the key criteria for invoking the infield fly rule, i.e., runners must be on first and second (or bases loaded). Since that condition wasn’t met, Machado was within the rules to let the ball drop to tag De La Cruz.

Padres still ended up allowing a run

While the Padres were able to remove the electric speed of Elly De La Cruz from the basepaths, Spencer Steer scored a run for the Reds. On a sac-fly from Tyler Stephenson, Steer came around to score as the Reds took a 4-1 lead after that fifth inning.

However, the Padres staged a comeback by scoring multiple runs in the sixth and seventh innings. The three-run seventh inning proved to be enough as Manny Machado's team won 6-4.

About the author

Krutik Jain is a journalist who has been reporting on baseball at Sportskeeda since 2022. It was in 2018 when the baseball bug bit Krutik, and already a cricket fan, he credits baseball's rules and Clayton Kershaw's pitching to have hooked him to the game.

A Kershaw and Mookie Betts fan, Krutik rates his favorite team LA Dodgers triumphing over Tampa Bay Rays in the 2020 World Series as his best baseball moment so far. His answer to the perennial "one player from the past you could meet" question is Jackie Robinson. Despite never having seen him play, Robinson's impact, legacy and trail-blazing journey have left an indelible impact on Krutik.

A rigorous fact-checker, Krutik likes reporting on the technical aspects of the game as well as off-field elements. When not watching baseball, Krutik is busy playing cricket, staying up to date with the happenings around the world and hiking.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash