The Houston Astros defeated the Boston Red Sox 5-4 on Friday night. Unfortunately, their win did not come without controversy.
Home plate umpire David Rackley had a particularly awful showing on the day, with one especially egregious sequence exemplifying what Boston had to deal with all night.
The incident in question occurred at the top of the fifth inning, with the Red Sox up 3-1.
J.D. Martinez took the first pitch for a ball, but then things turned. Next came a slider and two fastballs — each of which was called a strike. Every single one of those pitches missed the outside corner. That third strike, in particular, was particularly egregious.
Bad calls happen, obviously, but for some reason Rackley called them only against Boston. Meanwhile, Chris Sale couldn’t buy a strike in the first inning despite catching the corner of the strike zone.
Consistency matters. And in a close game, like the one that occurred on Friday night, shoddy umpiring can be the difference.
Bad refereeing has become a theme in sports this year. At the professional level and in college, it is affecting games.
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