To say that things did not go smoothly at all for the New York Yankees on Wednesday would be the understatement of the day for fans of the team in pinstripes. Every Yankees fan and their mother felt hard done by the officiating in their 8-7 defeat to the Houston Astros — with New York Knicks forward Josh Hart embracing the city with all his heart, if his reaction to the umpiring fiasco on Wednesday is any indication.
All night long, it seemed like the Yankees got the short end of the stick from home plate umpire Brian Walsh. The eighth inning in particular, was a disaster for the Yankees, especially for reliever Devin Williams, who already wasn't in the best of graces among the team's passionate fans. Williams proceeded to walk a few batters on some questionable ball calls, prompting the first ejection of his career in a tense inning that led to New York's demise.
Hart, like every Yankees fan, called for a consequence of some sort for Walsh, whom they deemed guilty of some poor umpiring at home plate.
“That Ump needs to be suspended. He’s trash,” Hart wrote on his official account on X (formerly Twitter).
It can get very frustrating when one loses in professional sports due to circumstances beyond one's control. For the Yankees, this feels all the more infuriating when they're jockeying for playoff positioning and every win matters.
Williams also is in the middle of a rough season, playing below expectations in his first season as a Yankee, so for him to not get the benefit of the doubt on what looked like a nasty strike adds further insult to injury.
New Yorkers can get very passionate about their professional sports, so this reaction from Hart to the turn of events on Wednesday should not come as a surprise to anyone whatsoever.
Yankees rue poor umpiring but have no one to blame but themselves
Even before the inning got out of hand for the Yankees with Walsh's purportedly inconsistent strike zone, New York already shot itself on the foot. Williams, before he felt shortchanged by the ball one of his pitches were called for, had already allowed a leadoff double and a walk, putting the Yankees in a tough spot already.
For manager Aaron Boone, as frustrating as this defeat is, some accountability is in order.
“I thought it was maybe a little inconsistent. This is more we had a lead, had a couple of chances to add on and the Astros put some good at-bats together. They were squaring up good pitches against us in the second half of the game. Outlasted us,” Boone said, per Phillip Martinez of SNY.
