When A.J. Pollock found himself tangled up with Astros third baseman Alex Bregman in the sixth inning on Sunday, he had a realization borne from equal parts instinct and education.
He knew deep down he had been obstructed as a baserunner. And he hoped, because of what he remembered from a long-ago, spring-training meeting at Salt River Fields, that if he made it close in his dash for home, that he’d get the benefit of the doubt on a call at the plate.
On the same play in which he drove home the tying run on a triple to center field, Pollock was awarded the go-ahead run on an obstruction call, a moment that turned out to be the biggest of the day in the Diamondbacks’ 3-1 win over the Houston Astros at Chase Field.