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Instant Reaction: Home plate ump struggles to call balls and strikes fairly in Blue Jays’ 4-3 defeat to Red Sox

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That was a brutal game, and the umpires didn’t help.

On Thursday afternoon, the Toronto Blue Jays took on the Boston Red Sox for the fourth and final game, looking for their second sweep of the season. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be, as the Red Sox won 4-3 in extra innings to bring the Jays to an 8-6 record.

 

The Red Sox opened the scoring in the bottom of the sixth, as Alex Bregman hit a line drive single to score Jarren Duran for the 1-0 lead. However, the Jays had an answer as Tyler Heineman hit an RBI single of his own to tie the game. In the same inning, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a pinch-hit grounder that resulted in a force out and the Blue Jays’ second run.

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Sadly, the Red Sox were able to tie it in the bottom of the eighth as Yimi García’s ball was blocked, but Heineman lost sight of it, leading to the runner coming in from third. The Jays jumped out to a 3-2 lead in the top of the tenth, but the Red Sox scored twice in their half of the inning to walk off the Jays.

Let’s discuss the home plate umpire

I don’t like blaming umpires for losses, and by no means was the ump the only reason why the Jays lost this game, but home plate ump Manny González had a rough game. 

The first call that arose suspension came in the top of the fifth, with a runner on first, Bo Bichette at the plate, a full count, and two outs. Walker Buehler’s pitch was well below the bottom of the zone and should’ve been ball four, but González called it strike three to end the inning. It’s even worse when you factor in the strike one call from earlier in the at-bat.

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With a runner on second, two outs, and a 3-0 count, Davis Schneider appeared to take ball four twice. He eventually got the walk, but the two preceding pitches were quite obviously above his belt.

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You’d think the expanded zone would go both ways, right? Nope. There are two examples of González shrinking the zone for the Jays. The first one was a 3-1 pitch from Brendon Little that caught the edge of the plate. It was called a ball, the batter took a walk, and the Red Sox eventually tied the game.

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An even more impactful missed call was in the bottom of the tenth. Sandlin very clearly caught the top of the zone with his 1-2 fastball, which should’ve been the second out. Especially since the Red Sox got two consecutive calls during Schenider’s at-bat. For some odd reason, González called it ball two, and the batter was hit by a pitch later in the at-bat, and the next batter ended the game.

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Look, it’s one thing if an umpire has an expanded zone or a shrunk zone; if it goes both ways. They’re human, it happens. But when one team can pitch to an expanded zone and the other has a shrunk zone, and it costs a team a loss, that is a problem. This is what Schneider said after the game.

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Takeaways…

Tangent about the umpires aside, let’s look at the good and bad things from this game.

Chris Bassitt had a good start, pitching five and two-thirds innings with one earned run allowed and five strikeouts. His season ERA now sits at 0.98 through three starts.

Their relievers also had a solid day, Chad Green struck out two in his inning and a third, and Brendon Little gave up an unearned run and struck out a batter. Yimi García struck out two in his inning and two-thirds, and although Nick Sandlin gave up an earned run, that has more to do with the ump squeezing his zone.

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I’ve always been a big fan of Alejandro Kirk and have written countless positive articles about him. With that being said, Tyler Heineman had a fantastic day, hitting three singles and getting an RBI. Until his play says other wise, he should get more starts than Kirk.

Speaking of Heineman, his defence was good in this game too. He couldn’t find the ball on the second Red Sox run, but he also threw out two runners; he’s the only catcher to do that to the Red Sox this season.

Myles Straw also continued to hit the ball well, hitting an important single that led to Heineman’s RBI. It’s hard to argue he doesn’t deserve a spot on this roster somewhere, given his strong defence and good speed.

Now for the bad. The bats are still cold, registering eight hits in this game with one extra-base hit courtesy of George Springer’s third double of the season. The team struck out a total of 11 times and went 1-9 with runners in scoring position.

Either they need to start hitting the ball out of the park or cash in runners with clutch hits. The way they’re playing right now is not sustainable.

The Blue Jays nearly did something they’ve only done once before. They’ve played 34 four-game series at Fenway Park since joining the league, only managing to sweep a four-game series once in their history all the way back in 1988. They were three outs away from doing it for a second time.

Taking three of four from a divisional rival isn’t bad, though. The good news for the Jays is that they’re right back at it on Friday, as they face off against the Baltimore Orioles for the second series against the team this season.

Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. They can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.