Brian Walsh made it two consecutive days now with a controversial call made against the New York Yankees.
The MLB umpire Walsh was at third base for Thursday’s game between the Yankees and the Houston Astros at Daikin Park in Houston, Tex. During the bottom of the sixth inning with the Yankees leading 4-1, Houston had a runner on second base with nobody out and Jose Altuve up to bat.
Altuve chopped a ball towards Yankees third baseman Ryan McMahon, which McMahon appeared to make the catch on. But in his attempt to look the runner back to second base, McMahon bobbled and dropped the ball as he transferred it out of his glove.
Walsh immediately ruled that there was no catch on the play, giving the Astros runners on first and second with still no out. That kind of play is not reviewable by rule, so the call ultimately stood after a brief chat by the umpires. Here is the video.
Brian Walsh ruled that Ryan McMahon didn’t catch this ball and after some dialogue the call stood pic.twitter.com/WcPI0n6Nc5
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) September 5, 2025
MLB rules officially hold that a fielder making a catch must (1) secure the ball and (2) hold onto it long enough to demonstrate complete control, and (3) release the ball intentionally and voluntarily. McMahon met at least two of those criteria on the play, but Walsh apparently felt that the third one was not met as well.
With McMahon officially charged with an error on the play, the Astros went on to score one run in the sixth after a subsequent error by Yankees second baseman Jose Caballero on the next at-bat. As for Walsh, he is definitely not endearing himself to New York fans right now after also making a controversial game-ending call against the Yankees while behind home plate on Wednesday.
