Cardinals beat Reds on controversial walk-off after umps leave field

The St. Louis Cardinals got a much-needed win vs. the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday. The Cardinals now trail the Giants by one game in the NL Wild Card race. But the final play of the Cards' win has many fans and reporters scratching their heads.

With the game tied in the ninth, Yadier Molina hit a ball that wound up hitting the second wall out at left field, which means it should've been called a ground-rule double.

Instead, Matt Carpenter managed to score from first base, the umpires called the game as a 4-3 St. Louis victory, and the Cardinals began to celebrate.

However, many questioned why the umpires left the field so quickly when the Reds wanted the play to be reviewed.

The umpires said that they left and refused to review it because the Reds didn't challenge the play fast enough.

Update: An umpire said they did actually review the play (?).

In a perfect world, the game would have remained tied in the ninth inning, Molina would've advanced to second and Carpenter would've been sent back to third, but sports aren't always perfect, even with replay available.

The Cardinals get to keep their playoff hopes alive, while the Reds are left with a sour taste in their mouths.

Update: As angry as Reds fans were after that, Reds manager Bryan Price was just as upset. He said that he doesn't blame the umpires, he blames the rule that says teams must challenge within 10 seconds.

"It's ludicrous … The San Francisco Giants, I imagine, they are going to be all sorts of upset about this one."