However you come down on the issue of was the batter rung up or not, and was the ball in the dirt or not, Mike Scioscia handled the post-game interview with true class, saying that it was their fault for not playing better and putting themselves in a position where a close call could beat them. He refused to blame the loss on that call, despite every other reporter's questions trying to get him to do just that.
Two things compounded California's problem: the reliever did a horrible job holding the runner, basically inviting him to take second (and has anyone else noticed how many supposedly top closers ignore runners and let them steal at will?), which he did, followed by a good piece of hitting.
If the reliever does his job better, second base isn't stolen, and you have second and third with no outs, not a great situation, but better than "game over".
Original Post