The New York Yankees were already trailing to the Houston Astros in the second inning of ALCS Game 6, and they did not need the help of home plate umpire Marvin Hudson to make things worse.
The Yankees had scored once in the second and were trying to draw closer with two on and two out against Astros reliever Josh James. In a 1-2 count, James threw an offspeed pitch that clearly veered outside. Hudson didn’t see it that way and punched Gardner out.
Brett Gardner was not happy with this called strike 3
Astros get out of the inning. pic.twitter.com/yFTIytdeCJ
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 20, 2019
Even James looked surprised that the pitch was called a strike. Gardner, meanwhile, had a serious gripe, especially since the 1-1 pitch was also questionably called on the inside part of the plate.
Brett Gardner has a couple legit gripes with Marvin Hudson. pic.twitter.com/TUE5Q0nCCo
— Zachary Demogorgon Rymer (@zachrymer) October 20, 2019
Amazingly, Gardner had almost the exact same thing happen late in the regular season. This one came at a terrible time for the Yankees, and may have cost them at least a run in a game that they simply have to win.
