The Milwaukee Brewers are upset after finding themselves on the wrong end of a momentum-swinging decision by an umpiring crew for a second straight day on Monday night.
The Brewers thought they had tied the game in the ninth inning of a 1-0 loss to Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night when a third strike to Jake Bauers got past Rays catcher Rene Pinto, enabling Sal Frelick to score from third.
However, Bauers was ruled out and Frelick was ordered to go back to third when plate umpire Ryan Additon ruled that the hitter\'s backswing hit Pinto\'s helmet.
\"So in this case, it was a third strike to Bauers and all runners go back to the original base at the time of the pitch,\" crew chief Chris Guccione said. \"That\'s the rule.\"
If backswing interference hadn\'t been ruled, the Brewers would have tied the game and had the potential winning run on third base with only one out since Willy Adames advanced from second to third and Bauers had reached first when the pitch got away.
The Brewers instead had runners on second and third with two outs while still trailing 1-0.
This came one day after the Brewers lost 15-5 to the New York Yankees in a game that featured its own controversial ruling with a different umpiring crew. Andy Fletcher, the crew chief for that game, acknowledged Aaron Judge should have been called for interference for his slide on a botched double-play attempt that sparked the Yankees\' tiebreaking seven-run rally in the sixth inning.
Brewers manager Pat Murphy believed his team got a raw deal again Monday. He was ejected for the first time this season after arguing that Frelick\'s run should have stood.
Via Associated Press