The Houston Astros got away with one to open their four-game series against the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday night.
With Houston holding a 4-2 lead in the sixth inning, reliever Hector Neris was facing Angels leadoff hitter Taylor Ward in a bases-loaded situation. On a 3-2 count, Neris missed inside with a sinker, but was given the strike three call by home plate umpire Stu Scheurwater.
Take a look.
Angels manager Phil Nevin was absolutely incensed and subsequently ejected after he came out of the dugout to give Scheurwater an earful. Mark Gubicza, the TV color commentator for the Angels, also expressed his disbelief on the air, saying repeatedly, “That’s not even close to a strike.”
The pitch by Neris was both low and inside, but Scheurwater was apparently fooled by catcher Yainier Diaz’s frame job. So instead of the Angels drawing the bases-loaded walk to make the game 4-3 (with the mighty duo of Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani set to bat next), it was simply a huge second out for the Astros (which in turn allowed them to settle down and change up the strategy). Trout would line out in the next at-bat, the Angels ended up failing to score and the Astros went on to win 5-2.
The Angels are chasing the Astros in the AL standings for a Wild Card spot, meaning that Scheurwater might have just altered the trajectory of their entire season with that awful strike three call. All of this may remind some Angels fans of another rough call that went against them a couple of seasons ago.
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