Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe hit a home run that was allowed to stand despite fan interference during Tuesday night's game against Toronto.
It happened in the bottom of the third inning with one out and runners on first and second with the Blue Jays leading 4-0. On the 2-2 pitch, Lowe hit a fly ball to deep right center field. Blue Jays right fielder Nathan Lukes timed his leap perfectly to make the catch, but a fan reached out from behind the outfield wall and caught the ball in front of the outstretched arm of Lukes.
A close-up angle of the play showed that the fan clearly interfered, and Lukes had a great chance to catch the ball had the interference not occurred. However, crew chief Laz Diaz announced a bizarre ruling: "After review, there is fan interference but the ball would have been a home run anyway, so it's a home run."
After the Blue Jays challenged for fan interference on this home run, the umpires ruled that it was fan interference but that it would've been a home run anyways pic.twitter.com/NRjNXq1Al8
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) September 17, 2025
We have seen controversies over home runs allowed despite fan interference before. From our standpoint, based on the close-up camera angle, this seems like the definition of fan interference. Looks like a terrible call to us. If this isn't fan interference, what is?
Despite the strange circumstances, the Blue Jays stayed focused and won the game 6-5 to maintain a 5-game lead in the American League East.
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports).
