Home plate umpire David Rackley heard plenty of complaints about his strike zone during Game 1 of the ALCS between the Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros. There were several pitches that were well off the plate but called strikes, and three of them came in the same at-bat for J.D. Martinez.
Martinez was called out on strikes in the top of the fifth inning with the Red Sox trailing 3-1. The slugger took the first pitch for a ball before looking at a slider and two fastballs that were called strikes. All three strikes missed the outside corner, as you can see below:
During the Red Sox at Astros game, this was the pitch sequence to JD Martinez. Note every one of those outside pitches were called strikes. pic.twitter.com/Awav7sHppr
— ScottCarson66 (@SCarson66) October 16, 2021
Here’s the video of the called third strike:
Yikes HP ump David Rackley .. Martinez down on strikes#RedSox 3 #Astros 1 T5 pic.twitter.com/kcf30H0Y4A
— Sports 24/7 (@B_R_R_D) October 16, 2021
Rackley appeared to be doing his best Angel Hernandez impersonation throughout much of the game, which the Astros won 5-4.
There were also several pitches that missed the strike zone high but were called strikes by Rackley. Typically, umpires won’t hear as many complains if their strike zone is consistent. However, there were a few pitches from Chris Sale in the first inning that appeared to catch the corner, but Rackley called them balls.
Overall, it was not a good night for Rackley. You won’t see him roasted as badly as Gabe Morales was for his controversial check swing call in the NLDS, but both teams had every right to be frustrated.
