The San Diego Padres angrily confronted the umpiring crew following their 3-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs in Game 3 of the National League Wild Card Series, ending their season. Video showed players having to be held back from reaching the umpires as they exited through the visitor’s dugout.
With the Padres down 3-0 entering the ninth inning, Jackson Merrill led off with a solo home run to cut into the lead. The next batter, Xander Bogaerts, worked a full count, but on the sixth and final pitch, home plate umpire D.J. Reyburn called an atrocious strike well below the zone. Bogaerts was rightfully irate and was restrained by San Diego manager Mike Shildt.
The Call That Changed Everything
It changed the entire inning. Cubs reliever Brad Keller went on to hit back-to-back batters, but instead of bases loaded with nobody out, it was runners on first and second with one out. Jake Cronenworth would then ground out to third, and Freddy Fermin flew out to center to end the game and the season.
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That call wouldn’t happen next year. Bogaerts would have been able to challenge it through the Automated Ball-Strike system, but it will be a year too late for the Padres.
“It’s a ball. Messed up the whole game, you know? I mean, can’t go back in time, and talking about it now won’t change anything,” Bogaerts told The San Diego Union-Tribune. “So it was bad, and thank God for ABS next year because this is terrible.”
That call wasn’t the main reason the Padres lost the series to the Cubs. San Diego scored just five runs across three games, went 3-for-26 with runners in scoring position, left 19 on base, and Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado went a combined 2-for-22.
But having that call alter such a critical playoff game is unacceptable. While ABS will be around next year, it should have been implemented sooner so moments like this don’t happen. Umpires need to be held accountable. Hopefully MLB will do that with Reyburn.
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