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Braves Announcers Had Perfect Reaction to Ump’s Horrible Called Third Strike on Marcell Ozuna

Madison Williams

This pitch looked way too low to be called a strike.
This pitch looked way too low to be called a strike. /
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The Atlanta Braves announcers, like many fans on Monday night, did not seem to agree with a strike called on designated hitter Marcell Ozuna vs. the New York Mets.

In the fifth inning, Mets relief pitcher Reed Garrett threw a 96 mph-pitch to Ozuna that appeared to be a bit below on the right side of the strike zone. What seemed like an obvious ball to the announcers and some fans, was called a strike by home plate umpire Junior Valentine. This was the third strike in Ozuna's plate appearance, making the call an even more controversial.

Braves play-by-play announcer Brandon Gaudin, along with analyst CJ Nitkowski, bitg exclaimed "No!" as Valentine called the pitch a strike.

"This ball without a doubt is below the strike zone," Nitkowski said.

Despite this controversial call, Ozuna did hit a home run during Monday night's game in the third inning. He went two-for-five in the Braves' 8–7 loss to the Mets.

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Madison Williams

MADISON WILLIAMS

Madison Williams is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where she specializes in tennis but covers a wide range of sports from a national perspective. Before joining SI in 2022, Williams worked at The Sporting News. Having graduated from Augustana College, she completed a master’s in sports media at Northwestern University. She is a dog mom and an avid reader.

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