The Cincinnati Reds and San Diego Padres played at Petco Park on April 30, 2024, when, in an unlikely scenario, Padres manager Mike Shildt took away a run from his team. But thanks to a seldom-utilized section of the catcher's interference rules, managers—in a certain situation—have the option of taking the play following the interference call or the penalty, which is to award the batter first base and allow any runner on base to advance one base, if forced.

Sound like football?

The Padres' new manager chose to take the penalty on a catcher's interference call that took away a run but gave him an extra out and led to a 6-4 victory.

Here's what happened.

With one out in the bottom of the fifth inning and San Diego leading, 1-0, the Padres had Tyler Wade on third and Fernando Tatis Jr. on first when Jake Conenworth hit what appear­ed to be a run-scoring groundout to second base. However, plate umpire Cory Blaser ruled catcher's interference on Reds catcher Luke Maile. This was the perfect storm for Shildt to be in the position of taking the play or the penalty, as all runners did not advance one base because Cronenworth was called out. If Shildt took the play, Wade would have scored to give the Padres a 2-0 lead and Tatis, Jr. would be on second base with two outs and Manny Machado at bat. If the Padres' skipper took the penalty, Wade would not score because he was not forced on the play. The bases would be loaded with only one out and Machado at bat with the Padres leading, 1-0.

So, with Machado, a career .827 OPS player due up next, Shildt's decision was to take the penalty. This would negate the run and keep Wade on third, Tatis Jr. on second and Conen­worth on first with one out.

Shildt wisely decided to play his hand by betting on Machado with the bases loaded and one out.

As it turned out, Machado roped Nick Martinez's first-pitch sinker to left-center field for a bases-clearing double, giving the Padres a 4-0 lead.

FanGraphs' run expectancy matrix supports Shildt's decision. With the bases loaded and one out, a team is expected to score 1.520 runs in an inning. With a man on second and two outs, a team is expected to score .305 runs—in addition to the one the Padres had already scored, meaning an average of 1.305 runs an inning.

Of course, the run expectancy matrix doesn't account for the next batter following the inter­ference call. If the batter's name is Machado, it's a good idea to take away the run and opt for the penalty.

"That was a big part of the calculus," Shildt said. "I'll take my shot with Manny. It really wasn't that hard a decision."