Umpire Laz Diaz Makes String of Bad Calls After Ejecting St. Louis Cardinals Coach

After missing 12 calls in the first six innings, umpire Laz Diaz had heard enough from Cardinals hitting coach Turner Ward and tossed him.

Neither the Atlanta Braves nor St. Louis Cardinals were getting very many friendly calls from home plate umpire Laz Diaz on Thursday, but the visiting Redbirds paid the price for talking back.

According to Umpire Auditor, Diaz missed 12 calls in the first six innings alone. Cardinals hitting coach Turner Ward finally made his frustration known from the dugout after a pitch that was several inches inside on right fielder Jordan Walker was called a strike, when it would have otherwise put him ahead in the count 3-0.

Diaz ejected Turner then and there, despite an attempt to ease the tension from manager Oliver Marmol.

"You get out, get out," Diaz yelled after ripping off his mask and walking towards the St. Louis dugout. "Get out, get out. Yeah you, get out. You, get out. Yeah you, get out."

The Cardinals were trailing the Braves 4-3 at the time.

Per Umpire Auditor, the next seven bad calls went against St. Louis, while Atlanta went on to win 8-5.

Diaz's calls in the game were 90% accurate and 92% consistent, according to Umpire Scorecards, which were the worst and second-worst marks in baseball on Thursday. The -2.7% below expected relative accuracy was the worst in any game, and the swing of 0.99 runs in the Braves' favor was the most one-sided across the league.

Diaz is routinely rated as one of the worst MLB umpires, right alongside Ángel Hernández, C.B. Bucknor and Ron Kulpa.

The Cardinals are now 61-79 on the season, which puts them on pace for their worst record since 1995. The Braves, meanwhile, were able to snap a three-game losing streak and improve to a league-best 91-48.

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