Phillies Fans Should Be Outraged After Final NLDS Umpire Grades

Let’s get one thing established off the bat: the Philadelphia Phillies did not lose the NLDS because of poor umpiring, not when the Phillies dropped three games by a combined four runs.

However, Phillies fans frequently took to social media and complained about strike zones, as fans have done dating back to the 19th century. The difference between 2025 and 1895, though, is that various graphics and data exist to prove when an umpire botches basic strike calls.

The Umpire Scorecards X/Twitter account has evaluated umpires all season, and that has continued into the postseason. Unfortunately for Phillies fans, the data is in, and it doesn’t reflect favorably on the four umpires who worked behind the plate in recent days.

According to Umpire Scorecards, umpires favored the Los Angeles Dodgers by 1.85 runs over the four games. Interestingly, three of the four umpires had an accuracy rate of at least 95%, with Adrian Johnson (Game 2) and Nic Lentz (Game 3) both getting 97% of their calls right. Nestor Ceja, who worked Game 1, posted a 95% accuracy rate, which is still above average.

Then, there’s Mark Wegner, who only got 92% of calls correct in Game 4. Umpire Scorecards found that Wegner missed 12 pitches on Thursday night. Of the 81 umpires who worked at least 20 games behind the plate this season, Wegner’s 94.78% accuracy rate actually ranked among the top third of umpires.

Interestingly, Johnson’s 93.41% accuracy rate graded eighth-worst during the regular season.

Did Umpiring Really Impact the Dodgers-Phillies NLDS?

A glance at the final series stats makes one wonder how the Phillies lost in four games. The vaunted Dodgers offense hit .199 with a .557 OPS and struck out 41 times in 141 plate appearances. Shohei Ohtani went 1-for-18, and Freddie Freeman finished 3-for-15. By those numbers alone, the Phillies shouldn’t have had many issues handling the Dodgers.

So, what went wrong? Sometimes, it’s nothing more than baseball and the luck of the draw. Phillies reliever Jhoan Duran walked four in 3 2/3 innings after issuing 19 free passes in 70 regular-season innings. Bryce Harper managed three hits without an RBI in 15 at-bats.