The Toronto Blue Jays were eliminated on Friday with their 4-3 loss to the Royals, but it was not without controversy.
In the ninth inning, the Blue Jays put two runners on and got the tying run to third with nobody out. Dioner Navarro and Ben Revere both struck out after borderline pitches went Kansas City’s way. Revere spoke after the game, and he was not happy about the strike zone he got.
“It was terrible. It changed the whole game,” Revere told reporters, via Big League Stew. “If he puts me in a 3-1 count, now he’s got to throw me a strike. Instead it’s 2-2 and that puts me in a hole and I’m battling. It was a terrible call. I know these guys are battling, but in that situation you can’t call that. It puts me in a bad situation.”
“It definitely was not a great call,” Revere continued. I mean, I’ve seen pictures, pitching charts. It was absolutely terrible. It was like, six inches off the plate. If I swing, I can’t hit it. That’s why I took it.”
This may be one of the charts Revere spoke of, showing the fourth pitch of the plate appearance off the outside corner.
Ben Revere, on 2nd strike call (4th pitch) in 9th-inning strikeout: "It was terrible. It changed the whole game." pic.twitter.com/IIKMuYxAk3
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) October 24, 2015
Revere certainly has a point. Navarro took a 1-1 pitch in nearly the same location that was also called a strike, putting him in a 1-2 hole against the extremely difficult Wade Davis instead of a more favorable 2-1 count. Revere’s questionable call came on a 2-1 pitch, forcing him into a situation where he had to protect in a 2-2 count instead of sitting on a pitch at 3-1. They unquestionably impacted the inning.
That said, Toronto had their chances. They went 0-12 with runners in scoring position, and any ball in play would have tied the game. It was an unfortunate combination of bad luck and poor execution. It’s still hard to blame them for being frustrated, especially when you combine this with the controversial second inning Mike Moustakas home run that could have been ruled fan interference.
