Nationals reliever Paxton Schultz awarded first big league win thanks to obscure scoring rule

In the top of the seventh, Washington was up 3-1 when Richard Lovelady entered the game with one out and two on. He retired two of the three men he faced, but the one batter who reached against him was Isaac Collins, whose two-run single tied the game at 3.

Although Lovelady was in the game when the Nationals took the lead for good, according to Rule 9.17 (c), a reliever is not supposed to receive the win if he has been “ineffective in a brief appearance.” If that sounds like a harsh way of describing Lovelady's outing — 2/3 of an inning, one hit, zero earned runs — the rule book gives even more guidance.

“The official scorer generally should, but is not required to, consider the appearance of a relief pitcher to be ineffective and brief if such relief pitcher pitches less than one inning and allows two or more earned runs to score (even if such runs are charged to a previous pitcher)," it says.

The rules about awarding wins to relievers have been in the news recently after Texas rookie Robby Ahlstrom got his first victory via a scoring appeal. Ahlstrom entered with two outs in the fifth inning against Kansas City last Thursday. The Rangers led 3-2 in a game they'd eventually win 4-2. Because the starter didn't go five innings, the official scorer was supposed to give the win to the most effective reliever.

Ahlstrom got a celebratory beer shower after that game, only to find out that Jacob Latz — who came in later — had received the win. The Rangers appealed, and MLB eventually changed the win to Ahlstrom.

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