The Washington Nationals beat the New York Yankees 5–2 Wednesday night, and got a little help from behind the plate.
In the top of the ninth inning, home plate umpire Tony Randazzo made one of the worst ball-strike calls you'll see all season and it helped the Nationals in a tough spot.
Nats closer Kyle Finnegan opened the ninth inning with a 5–2 lead, but surrendered a single to Anthony Volpe before walking Jazz Chisholm Jr. to bring the tying run to the plate with no outs. Oswaldo Cabrera stepped in, replacing DJ LeMahieu. With Finnegan reeling, Cabrera was ready to pounce but the first offering was an 86 mph splitter that missed the plate by a mile. Regardless, Randazzo called it a strike.
Video is below.
blue??????? pic.twitter.com/ThFMFgxqgm
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) August 29, 2024
That ball looks like it's nearly a foot outside.
Cabrera was put on his back foot and fouled off the next two pitches. Then, facing an 0–2 count, he lined out to center field. That gave Finnegan some life. He got Alex Verdugo to ground out back to the mound, then struck out Gleyber Torres to end the game.
Final: Yankees 2, Nationals 5
— BallsAndStrikes (@umpstrikezone) August 29, 2024
Umpire: Tony Randazzo#RepBX // #NATITUDE#NYYvsWSH // #WSHvsNYY
Missed Balls: https://t.co/GDlCwaE0H8
Missed Strikes: https://t.co/CvpQVCLbfg
Video may not be available immediately after the game pic.twitter.com/3wB3Bi2VtN
Yes, it was just one call, but it certainly impacted the inning. Randazzo had some big misses during Wednesday's game, and both teams had reasons to be upset. But the missed call in the ninth loomed large.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Umpire Tony Randazzo Made One of the Worst Calls of the 2024 MLB Season.
