Dodgers' Appeal Costs Rangers a Run - Passing a Base and Last Time By Rules and Interpretations

Los Angeles successfully appealed that Texas runner Adolis Garcia failed to touch third base during Saturday's game, with 3B Umpire Nic Lentz declaring the out to take a run off the board. What's the rule? Article: https://www.closecallsports.com/2021/06/last-time-by-touch-failure-costs-texas.html Official Baseball Rule 5.09(c)(2) governing appeal plays states that a runner is out on appeal when they fail to touch each base in order before they, or a missed base, is tagged. In this situation, Garcia touched and rounded third base on teammate Joey Gallo's single off to right field off of pitcher Trevor Bauer. However, Garcia then ran back toward second base before quickly changing course again and running toward home plate, failing to touch third base both on his way back to second and again on his way home. By rule, did Garcia need to retouch third base? How far toward a base constitutes "passing" a base anyway? The MLB Umpire Manual contains just such an interpretation and diagram to indicate that Garcia did indeed pass third base three times on this play: Once in his initial run and round of the base in which he touched third base, a second time when retreating back toward second base, and a third time when again running to home plate to score. According to baesball's "last time by" principle, which governs base touch legality based on what the baserunner does on their "last time by" a base, Garcia was illegal and called out on appeal (his run nullified) because he failed to touch third base on his last time by—when he past third base in a beeline toward home plate. Had Garcia touched third base prior to finally running home, he would have been legal and safe on appeal, as his action in touching third base on his "last time by" would have superseded or corrected the baserunning error in failing to touch (retouch) third base in his brief retreat toward second.