Jose Altuve got no help from the umpires during an at-bat in the ninth inning of Game 3 of the ALCS at Petco Park in San Diego, Calif. on Tuesday night.
Altuve was batting against Tampa Bay Rays closer Diego Castillo in the bottom of the ninth. The Houston Astros had runners on first and second with one out, which gave Altuve a chance to tie the 5-2 game with a 3-run home run.
Altuve worked the count to 2-2 before the pitch in question. Castillo threw a nasty breaking ball that Altuve offered at, but the Astros second baseman held back on his check swing.
Why do home plate umpires refuse to ask for help? This is HORRIBLE. Could be game-changing. pic.twitter.com/sP8ucu6x56
— Danny Vietti (@DannyVietti) October 14, 2020
Unfortunately for Houston, home plate umpire Jeff Nelson said Altuve went around and called him out. There was no appeal to first base umpire Ted Barrett, who would have had a better look at the play.
The strikeout made it two outs in the inning. The next batter was Michael Brantley, who flied out to end the game.
Tampa Bay won the game 5-2 to take a 3-0 series lead. Altuve already was having a rough enough game in the field. Having the bat taken out of his hands on that call probably just made his evening even more painful.
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