HOUSTON (AP) — Jose Altuve was sure he’d hit a tying home run for the Houston Astros in Game 4 of the AL Championship Series. He thought it was a double Reggie Jackson Jersey , at least, when he watched the ball ricochet back onto the field.Then, he saw the signal: He was out, and couldn’t believe it. Altuve’s potential homer was wiped away when umpire Joe West ruled that fans reaching for the ball interfered with Boston right fielder Mookie Betts attempting to make a leaping catch.Now Houston’s chances to repeat as World Series champions are nearly out of reach after an 8-6 loss Wednesday night that put the Red Sox ahead 3-1 in the best-of-seven matchup.“I normally don’t get mad at the umpire’s call. That one, I was a little upset,” Altuve said. “All of a sudden, it wasn’t even a double, it was an out. Two runs the game ended up … that make me a little bit more upset.”Denied Altuve’s two-run drive in the first inning, the Astros wound up falling two runs short.“That’s just a tough call right now,” said Houston’s George Springer, who later homered over that same wall. “I understand it’s not easy to make that call. You would like to see a two-run homer be a two-run homer, especially to tie the game.”West, the crew chief working the right-field line at Minute Maid Park, signaled fan interference after Betts was unable to make a jumping grab. Fans made contact with Betts’ glove http://www.athleticsfanproshop.com/authentic-matt-joyce-jersey , though it wasn’t clear if they had reached over the fence.The call stood after a replay review that lasted 3 minutes, 13 seconds. Altuve was ruled out and Springer was sent back to first base.West told a pool reporter the ball had not crossed the top of the wall when “the spectator reached out of the stands and hit him over the playing field and closed his glove.”Betts, one of the best defenders in the majors, said he had it all the way.“That was a ball I could catch. I’m 100 percent positive I was going to be able to catch that one,” he said.“I jumped and went over, reached my hand up, I felt like somebody was kind of pushing my glove out of the way or something,” Betts said.A fan wearing an orange Astros jersey, who identified himself as Troy Caldwell, insisted he wasn’t reaching out over the yellow line atop the 7-foot-high fence when the ball hit his hand.“That ball was gone no matter what,” said Caldwell, a lifelong Astros fan from Houston who now lives in Atlanta.The play came on the same day MLB cleared the Astros of any wrongdoing after a credentialed Houston employee was caught pointing his cellphone into the opposing dugouts during playoff games in Cleveland and Boston.Astros manager AJ Hinch cracked a joke when asked if there were enough cameras at the ballpark to properly review plays like Altuve’s hit.“Yeah, earlier we started the day with do we have too many cameras in the park,” Hinch said Glenn Hubbard Jersey , smiling. “So, yeah, I wish we had an angle that was perfectly along the fence line that would show. That’s the one camera we don’t have.”Altuve had both hands on his helmet in disbelief while standing on second base, where he stopped when the play ended. Hinch went out to discuss the situation with West, who had a brief consultation with the rest of the six-man umpire crew before the play was reviewed.“Jose pays the biggest price because the trajectory of the ball looked like it was going to leave the ballpark. But we assume — and you can assume a lot with Mookie because he’s an incredible athlete — we assume he’s going to make this spectacular catch jumping as high as he can into the crowd,” Hinch said. “Changed that whole inning.”While Betts didn’t say anything to the fans after the disputed play, Caldwell said he immediately started getting texts that he had cost Altuve and the Astros a home run.Altuve said he had nothing against Caldwell, and would do the same thing as a fan and try to catch a ball.“As long as the Astros come back and win this we’ll be all right,” Caldwell said during the game.They didn’t, and now are facing elimination. MIAMI (AP) — The Miami Marlins were 21 games under .500 and playing before another small crowd as Derek Jeter spoke in the fifth inning Wednesday night, so he didn’t sugarcoat the state of the franchise 10 months into his tenure as CEO.“We have a ways to go,” Jeter said. “No one is happy with what has happened to this point. But we are headed in the right direction.”The rookie executive bases his optimism in part on a succession of trades that depleted the major league roster but replenished a farm system that had ranked among baseball’s worst.Reliever Brad Ziegler and outfielder Cameron Maybin, two well-traveled veterans who were not part of the Marlins’ long-term plans, were swapped for prospects at last month’s trade deadline. Miami kept All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto and several other young players who could become part of Jeter’s rebuilding effort.“Every move we make with this organization is always to make us better Rickey Henderson Jersey ,” Jeter said. “We’re not in a position of just giving players away. So we’re happy with what we added at the trade deadline. We’re also happy with what we were able to keep here.”The Marlins are interested in a long-term contract for Realmuto, which would underscore a change in philosophy under Jeter for a franchise long accustomed to heavy roster turnover.“J.T. in my opinion is at right at the top of the list as being one of the best all-around catchers in baseball,” Jeter said. “He is a guy we would love to have here long term.”The Marlins have relied heavily on young players this season, with decidedly mixed results. One benefit, Jeter said, has been the opportunity to evaluate promising but unproven talent — even players not faring well.“I like to see when guys struggle,” he said. “I want to see how you respond to struggling, because you’re going to struggle at some point.”Not struggling much has been rookie right fielder Brian Anderson, who began the night batting .285 with 37 extra-base hits.“He should be at the top of the list when anybody talks about Rookie of the Year,” said Jeter, who won the award himself in 1996.