It's actually been the rule for quite some time, 40+ years...

2-1 home team?

The two previous posters had it right, 4-4. When home team goes ahead or TIES in the 5th or later inning, it becomes an official game if the game is called at that point. It seems odd that the guy getting the double would have been better off just delaying the game hoping the ump calls the game. In that case the home team wins 2-1.

Here is another one some may find surprising. Describe a situation where 4 outs might occur.

The Maryland high school regular-season rule is, once the game is official (5 innings), any suspension of the game leads to the score reverting to what it was at the end of the last fully completed inning, no matter what happened in the incomplete inning, and the game being officially over. Only in the case of a tie will the teams later complete the game.

All playoff games must go the full seven innings unless stopped by the 10-run rule.

I didn't know the regular-season rule until last year, when a visiting team led after five innings, the home team took the lead in the sixth and then rain hit with two outs and wiped out the rest of the game. I (and to be fair, a lot of other people) thought it counted as a home team win, and were corrected a day later by a state representative. I had to run a correction. Oops.

no the game is suspended and continues another day
the game isnt called

the home team does not win 2-1 the other way. that was the old rule. You are 100% wrong

Interesting non-rule...

If you are saying there are no tie games, then you are wrong. Games called after 5 innings (tied or not) count for official hitting/fielding/pitching statistics. Whether the game is continued or replayed (or not) does not matter in this regard.

the game is suspended. If it is not necesary to make up the rest of the game it can be called a tie .. but if the team needs the game to continue because they are in a playoff race it must be made up

yes the stats count and it's an official game if it is not continued

im also saying that if the game is 2-1 home team and the visiting team scores 3 in the top of the 6th and gets the lead ... .the game is suspended and must be continued. Under old rules, yes the home team would win 2-1. But that is not the case anymore

this article is decent about it

At the end of the sixth inning in a rain-soaked game in the Steel City the Cubs were down 5-2. They rallied for four runs in the top of the next inning, but during the seventh inning stretch the umpires decided to call it a night. "To be continued," they said. The Cubs didn't have their momentum blunted by the sunrise and they held on to win 8-6 on Wednesday to earn an official victory in the standings.
Under the old rules the Pirates actually would have been bestowed the W because they were winning at the end of the last completed inning (the sixth). Even though the visitors took the lead in the top half of the inning, if the game had been called - like it was here - then the official score would have reverted back to the score of the last completed inning.
With the new rules the game was suspended and was resumed exactly where it left off on the next day. Officially, Rule 4.12 (a) states: "A game shall become a suspended game that must be completed at a future date if the game is terminated ... (due to) weather, if a regulation game is called while an inning is in progress and before the inning is completed, and the visiting team has scored one or more runs to take the lead."

4.12 SUSPENDED GAMES.

(a) A game shall become a suspended game that must be completed at a future date if the game is terminated for any of the following reasons:

(1) A curfew imposed by law;

(2) A time limit permissible under league rules;

(3) Light failure or malfunction of a mechanical field device under control of the home club. (Mechanical field device shall include automatic tarpaulin or water removal equipment);

(4) Darkness, when a law prevents the lights from being turned on;

(5) Weather, if a regulation game is called while an inning is in progress and before the inning is completed, and the visiting team has scored one or more runs to take the lead, and the home team has not retaken the lead; or

(6) It is a regulation game that is called with the score tied.

National Association Leagues may also adopt the following rules for suspended games. (If adopted by a National Association League, Rule 4.10(e) would not apply to their games.):

(7) The game has not become a regulation game (4½ innings with the home team ahead, or 5 innings with the visiting club ahead or tied).

If a game is suspended before it becomes a regulation game, and is continued prior to another regularly scheduled game, the regularly scheduled game will be limited to seven innings.

(9) If a game is suspended after it is a regulation game, and is continued prior to another regularly scheduled game, the regularly scheduled game will be a nine inning game.

I had to look up the "4 outs" answer because I knew it wasn't the strikeout/wild pitch scenario. After I found out how it can happen, I kicked myself for not remembering that I'd seen the exact scenario happen six years ago.

thats from mlb.com official rulebook fyi

the bolded part explains why it would not be 2-1

[spam] - dan post in my 25k thread [/spam]

4 outs something about 2 guys being on a same base at the same time or something maybe?

Got it. I seem to recall a rule change in this regard, could not place it though.

That's really ******ed. The rule should be that if the visiting team takes the lead in an incomplete inning, it's a suspended game.

Actually, why don't they suspend all rainouts, and finish the game later? (even if the rain
out occurs in the 2nd inning.)

4 outs can occur if there are men on 2nd and 3rd with 2 out, and the batter hits it to the 3rd baseman. We'll use Chipper Jones for this example because he is awesome. The base-runners were running on the play, and Chipper tags the guy who was on second, but the faster runner on 3rd already scored. Since it wasn't a force out, the run counts. But the batter thought the inning was over so he didn't even bother running to first base. Chipper Jones then throws to 1st to get the force out and 4th out, which makes the run not count.

Wow is that a scame, has this ever actually happened? Thats clearly not in the spirit of the rules, but LOL at what would happen to the hitter in the post-game.

FWIW when I researched the answer, the scenario I found was different. In the one you give, I'm pretty sure there is no fourth out, the inning is over at the point the tag is made and the run stands. It's the fielder's mistake for not going for the force-out at first instead of the tag-out.

Runners on 1st and 3rd, 1 out. Batter hits long fly to center fielder, who catches for 2nd out. Both runners tag up, but runner on 3rd tags up too early. Throw comes in to 2nd, and runner from 3rd touches home plate just prior to runner getting tagged out sliding into 2nd for 3rd out. Defensive team realizes runner from 3rd tagged up too early, and they appeal to 3rd for 4TH OUT!

Yeah that's the scenario I found, too. Like I said, I saw it in a high school game six years ago, but for some reason it never occurred to me as a fourth out, I simply wrote that after the third out, the team used a successful appeal at third to wipe out the run.

Except what I saw was runners on second and third, one out, flyout to deep center, guy tagging up at second gunned down at third. Same deal though.

When I was playing high school ball in Oregon, where obviously it rains a lot, we totally took advantage of this once. We were winning at the end of five innings. It was raining lightly, but we clearly had at least half an hour before there's any chance things get stopped. In the top of the sixth, we get one out, then the other team ties it up. Then they take the lead, then another hit and they're up by 3. It starts to rain just a little bit harder. Our coach comes out to make a pitching change, and puts in the worst pitcher we have (lefty, arrogant prick, thought he was awesome, but was wrong). The rain continues to pick up. The guy lets the next seven players reach base, or something like that, then gets a second out. At this point we're down like 8 or so, and I've figured out what the coach is doing by now, since he's not even considering warming anyone else up. Fly ball to me in center field, and I "misjudge it". Five or six more batters come up before we finally get out of the inning. It's raining really hard now. The umps come together for a conference, and I walk up to my coach (who's just shaking his head) and say "Sorry, the inning would've gone a little quicker if I'd caught that fly ball," with a big grin on my face. He laughs. Umps call the game. Other team celebrates their "win". We don't bother to correct them

Yeah, I know it was totally bush league, but then, who really cares in a meaningless JV game? It was still pretty hilarious. Ah, sophomore year.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_out

Honestly, this story both cracks me up, and makes me want to strangle your JV coach at the same time.