Astros beat the Padres 4-3 in 10 innings after Jose Altuve was ejected in wild scene in the 9th

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Moments after Jose Altuve was ejected for taking off his left cleat and sock trying to prove a point, his replacement, Grae Kessinger scored the go-ahead run in the 10th inning and then made a sensational play at second base to seal the Houston Astros' wild 4-3 win against the San Diego Padres on Tuesday night.

Altuve grounded out to third for the final out of the ninth but insisted he had fouled the ball off his foot. In a crazy scene, he took off his cleat and sock, trying to show the umpires where the ball hit, which got him ejected by plate umpire Brennan Miller. Manager Joe Espada was tossed after continuing to argue.

“Sometimes you get hit somewhere in the hand and you take your batting glove to show you got hit. I was expecting to do the same thing,” Altuve said.

“It was going through my head that it can’t happen,” he added. “It’s the ninth inning, winning run on second base, I’m battling against a good pitcher, (Robert) Suarez, the closer, so I’m obviously trying to get a hit and drive the run in and win the game. I get a foul ball because it hit my foot and they just took it away from me. I don’t think that can happen. There are four guys on the field and you can see the change of direction on the ball. Just make the right call.”

Espada was still wound up afterward.

“It’s a foul ball,” the manager said. “You have to see the ball once he hits the foot, the flight of the ball. I don’t get it. I don’t understand. That’s twice this year. I have a lot of respect for the umpires. They work hard. But there are four out there. You have to be able to see it. They missed that call.”

Kessinger started the 10th as the automatic runner in place of Altuve, advanced on Yordan Alvarez’s groundout and scored on Kyle Tucker’s single to left off Adrian Morejon (2-2).

Astros reliever Héctor Neris loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the 10th before getting Manny Machado to ground into a force play on a terrific backhanded stop by Kessinger, who flipped the ball to shortstop Jeremy Peña to end it.

It was Kessinger’s first game with the Astros since July 13.

“Right before he hit it, I was thinking he’s going to hit a ball up the middle and it’s going to hit off the mound, and that’s exactly what happened. But go catch it. That’s the job,” Kessinger said.

He figured he was going to get into the game after Altuve was tossed.

“As he started to untie his shoe, I started to grab my glove. I didn’t know if I was the one that was going to be going in, but I didn’t know what he was doing, but I was just getting ready,” Kessinger said.

The Padres twice rallied to tie the game, first at 2-2 on Machado's 27th homer with one out in the sixth and at 3-3 in the eighth when Fernando Tatis Jr. scored on Josh Hader's two-out wild pitch.

Hader (8-7) came on to boos and was called for a pitch clock violation. After a lengthy delay it was announced there was no violation. Hader then threw a wild pitch that brought in Tatis.

Hader was with the Padres from the 2022 trade deadline through last year before leaving as a free agent. He drew the ire of San Diego fans when he said late last season that he was reluctant to get more than three outs.

Neris earned his 18th save.

The Padres failed to add to their wild-card lead over Arizona and remained 3 1/2 games behind Los Angeles in the NL West.

Machado admired his 405-foot homer for several seconds, tossed his bat aside and gestured toward the Padres’ dugout as he began his trot.

Last week, Machado broke Nate Colbert’s 50-year-old club record of 163 homers and now has 165 in his six seasons with the Padres.

Hunter Brown had retired nine straight batters before Tatis hit a leadoff single two batters ahead of Machado.

The Astros took a 3-2 lead in the eventful eighth. Alvarez doubled into the right-center gap with one out, advanced on a balk by Jason Adams while Kyle Tucker was batting and scored on Adams' wild pitch that put Alex Bregman on with a walk.

The Astros took a 2-0 lead in the fourth. Singles by Tucker and Bregman put runners on first and second before Jon Singleton lofted an opposite-field blooper to left for a run-scoring double. Jeremy Peña's groundout brought in Bregman.

Brown allowed two runs and five hits in six innings.

King struck out seven in seven innings. He was charged with two runs and five hits.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Astros: Placed OF Ben Gamel on the 10-day injured list with a broken left leg three days after he ran into the wall at Angel Stadium while making a running catch. Gamel will be out indefinitely. C César Salazar was recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land.

Padres: Luis Arraez was back at DH despite jamming a knee into home plate while being thrown out Monday night.

UP NEXT

Astros LHP Framber Valdez (14-6, 2.91 ERA) and Padres RHP Dylan Cease (13-11, 3.58 ERA) are scheduled to start on Wednesday.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez, center, celebrates with teammate third baseman Grae Kessinger after the Astros defeated the San Diego Padres 4-3 in a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena (3) celebrates with right fielder Jason Heyward after the Astros defeated the San Diego Padres 4-3 in a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Houston Astros' Yordan Alvarez, right, runs into San Diego Padres relief pitcher Jason Adam, center, as he scores off a wild pitch during the eighth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

San Diego Padres' Jurickson Profar reacts after getting hit by a pitch during the tenth inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado throws to first too late as Houston Astros' Jose Altuve arrives for a single during the first inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Houston Astros' Jose Altuve moves away from a high pitch while batting during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Houston Astros manager Joe Espada, center, argues with home plate umpire Brennan Miller, right, as second baseman Jose Altuve looks on during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in San Diego. Espada and Altuve were ejected after arguing a groundout by Altuve was fouled off his foot. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Houston Astros' Jose Altuve reacts towards home plate umpire Brennan Miller, right, after taking his sock and shoe off during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in San Diego. Altuve was ejected along with Astros manager Joe Espada after arguing a groundout by Altuve was fouled off his foot. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Houston Astros' Jose Altuve points at his foot after taking his sock and shoe off during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in San Diego. Altuve was ejected along with Astros manager Joe Espada after arguing a groundout by Altuve was fouled off his foot. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Houston Astros' Jose Altuve points at his foot after taking his sock and shoe off during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in San Diego. Altuve was ejected along with Astros manager Joe Espada after arguing a groundout by Altuve was fouled off his foot. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Houston Astros' Jon Singleton celebrates his RBI double during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

San Diego Padres' Manny Machado tips his hat to the crowd after receiving memorabilia to honor breaking the team record for all-time home runs as he stands alongside Casey Colbert, the the widow of former record holder Nate Colbert, before a baseball game against the Houston Astros Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

San Diego Padres' Manny Machado celebrates after hitting a two-run home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

San Diego Padres' Manny Machado tosses his bat after hitting a two-run home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

San Diego Padres' Manny Machado celebrates after hitting a two-run home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former LA County Sheriff Jim McDonnell will lead the Los Angeles Police Department, taking charge of the force of nearly 9,000 officers as discontent grows among the city's residents over public safety even as violent crime numbers drop, the mayor announced Friday.

Mayor Karen Bass, who had the final say after a civilian board of Los Angeles police commissioners vetted McDonnell, said her selection of a veteran law enforcement officer was based on a need to reduce crime and make every neighborhood safer. Bass met with hundreds of LAPD officers and community leaders before making her decision.

The pick ended debate over whether Bass would choose an “insider” or “outsider” who would shake things up and challenge the way things were done within the department’s insular culture.

“From the beginning, I have been clear: My top priority as mayor is to ensure that Angelenos and our neighborhoods are safer today than yesterday,” Bass said. “Chief McDonnell is a leader, an innovator, and a change maker, and I am looking forward to working with him to grow and strengthen LAPD.”

The incoming chief will have to make sure the department is ready for the additional security challenges of the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympics.

McDonnell was elected LA County Sheriff in 2014 to oversee the largest sheriff’s department in the U.S. Before that, he spent 29 years in the LAPD and served as Long Beach’s police chief for almost five years.

McDonnell vowed to enhance public safety, grow back the force that has shrunk from about 10,000 officers in 2019, and “ensure respectful and constitutional policing practices.”

McDonnell said he was happy to come out of retirement to do the job.

“I feel like I still have gas in the tank, fire in the belly, if you will, and a desire to be able to try and be helpful," he said.

The appointment follows the surprise retirement of Chief Michel Moore in early 2024. Moore’s tenure was marked by greater scrutiny into excessive force and police killings of civilians in the nation’s second-largest city. Dominic Choi has led the department as interim chief — and the first Asian American chief — since March 2024. Bass thanked Choi for his work, and said he will continue to serve as assistant chief under McDonnell.

Some had hoped Bass would use the opportunity to make history and fill the post with a person of color or a woman. McDonnell is white.

The other two candidates sent to Bass, who made the final selection, were Deputy Chief Emada Tingrides, a Black woman, and former Assistant Chief Robert “Bobby” Arcos, who is Latino. Both were reported by the Los Angeles Times as finalists for the position.

Bass said she has been a champion of inclusion for her whole career.

“I think there’s work that needs to be done in the LAPD,” Bass said. “I will continue to pay attention to representation particularly with the Latino population which we know is half of the city of Los Angeles.”

The LAPD has faced criticism through the years over its response to the George Floyd protests and several high-profile shootings by officers. It has struggled to get rid of bad cops while also struggling to recruit as more officers leave its ranks than are coming in.

The police officers' union, the Los Angeles Police Protective League, applauded the mayor's choice.

“Her selection of former County Sheriff Jim McDonnell as the next chief of police confirms the mayor’s commitment to improve historic lows in officer staffing and officer morale and to fix LAPD’s broken discipline process," the organization said in a statement. “We have every confidence in Chief McDonnell’s ability to hit the ground running to improve public safety in Los Angeles and to appoint an upper command staff that will do away with the status quo and turn a new page for the LAPD.”

John Sullivan, who retired as a lieutenant in 2018 after 30 years at the county sheriff's department, called McDonnell a “hybrid” in the insider-outsider debate.

“He grew up in the organization, he knows the organization ... but he’s also been the chief of a separate department, and he’s also been sheriff,” Sullivan said. McDonnell would bring a “fresh set of eyes” to the LAPD's problems while understanding the concerns of the rank-and-file.

At the LAPD, McDonnell held every rank from police officer to second-in-command under former LAPD chief Bill Bratton. During that time, he helped implement a federal consent decree imposed on the department largely as a result of the Rampart scandal, a corruption case involving rampant misconduct within the anti-gang unit.

When he was elected county sheriff, he inherited a department in the wake of a jail abuse corruption scandal that led to convictions against his predecessor, Lee Baca, and more than 20 other officials. Members of a civilian watchdog commission applauded McDonnell for embracing federal mandates for jail reform, including improving de-escalation training and better documentation of the use of force that has led to improved jail conditions, the Los Angeles Times reported.

In 2022, he joined the University of Southern California as director of the Safe Communities Institute, which conducts research on public safety solutions.

McDonnell also served on an advisory committee to USC's Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Threats and Emergencies, a U.S. Homeland Security department-funded institution to do research on counterterrorism, according to Sullivan. His experience with studying international security threats could be an asset as police chief.

“We have really large public events that are coming that could well be terrorist targets," Sullivan said, referring to the World Cup and Olympics. "The war in Gaza, the brewing war in south Lebanon, all that's going to have echoes or ripples here in Los Angeles.”

Newly appointed Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell listens during a news conference in Los Angeles, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, right, and newly appointed police chief Jim McDonnell share a light moment during a news conference in Los Angeles, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, right, and newly appointed police chief Jim McDonnell, center, arrive for a news conference in Los Angeles, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Newly appointed Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell listens to questions from the media during a news conference in Los Angeles, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, right, and newly appointed police chief Jim McDonnell shake hands during a news conference in Los Angeles, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, right, introduces newly appointed police chief Jim McDonnell during a news conference in Los Angeles, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, left, and newly appointed police chief Jim McDonnell listen to questions from the media during a news conference in Los Angeles, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Newly appointed Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell attends a news conference in Los Angeles, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Newly appointed Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell speaks during a news conference in Los Angeles, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)