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Announcers Left Stunned by Umpire's Blown Call to End Diamondbacks-Astros Game

Houston got pretty lucky with this call.
This was not a strike.
This was not a strike. | Screenshot via @JomboyMedia on X

The Houston Astros won their fourth game in a row on Wednesday afternoon thanks, in part, to a brutal call by home plate umpire Brian Walsh.

With his team up 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth inning, closer Josh Hader delivered a 3-2 pitch to Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte—one that was pretty clearly a ball and would have put runners on first and second. Walsh, however, saw it differently, and rung up Marte to give Houston the win.

Here's a look at the pitch:

Pretty clearly a ball.

As you can hear in the video, Arizona's broadcast team was left stunned by the home plate ump's call.

"Oh no. Oh no..." reacted Diamondbacks play-by-play announcer Steve Berthiaume. "That's a called strike three to end the game."

"[Hader's] slider was never in the strike zone," added analyst Bob Brenly. "Ever."

With the win, Houston improves to 60-42 while Arizona—losers of three-straight—drops to 50-53 and sits 5.5 games back in the National League wild-card race.


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Published | Modified
 Mike Kadlick
MICHAEL KADLICK

Mike Kadlick is an NFL writer for Sports Illustrated. He’s also a New England Patriots reporter for CLNS Media, where he hosts the Patriots Daily podcast and covers the beat from Gillette Stadium. Before joining SI, Kadlick worked at WEEI sports radio in Boston. He holds a master’s degree in public relations from Boston University. When Kadlick’s not covering football, he can be found running, spending time with his wife and dog, and enjoying all things pizza.