Mets' Juan Soto Struck Out on Back-to-Back Brutal Called Strikes From Umpire

Let's just say that home plate umpire Manny Gonzalez's strike zone is a bit high.

Juan Soto had a hard time believing this call. / Screengrab Twitter @TalkinBaseball_

Rarely does Juan Soto, armed with one of the best hitter's eyes in MLB, look at a pitch go by for a called strike. Generally, the pitches he takes are out of the zone, and if the offering is in the zone, he's probably swinging at it.

This was surprisingly not the case during his first at-bat of Saturday's game against the Cincinnati Reds. Facing Reds lefthander Nick Martinez in the bottom of the first inning, Soto took the first pitch for a ball, then declined to swing at a cutter inside and at the letters, thinking it was ball two. Home plate umpire Manny Gonzalez, however, called it a strike.

Robot Umps pic.twitter.com/6YDxjA9FgT

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) July 19, 2025

Soto fouled the next two pitches off to make the count 1-and-2, then was called out on strikes on a sinker up in the zone. Soto, who had briefly said some words to Gonzalez after the first called strike, simply stared off into the distance as if he couldn't believe what had just happened. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza barked at Gonzalez from the dugout.

Gonzalez, who has been an umpire since 2010, has rated among the most accurate ball and strike callers in MLB this season, per Umpire Scorecards. In this particular instance, it seems that he missed the call.

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