The Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox were tied 2-2 in the top of the 9th inning in Game 4 of the ALCS on Tuesday night. Nathan Eovaldi was pitching in relief for the Red Sox and had recorded two outs while yielding two base runners when Jason Castro stepped into the box.
Facing a two-strike count, Eovaldi appeared to dot the corner perfectly on a breaking ball to end the top half of the inning. Instead, umpire Laz Diaz ruled it a ball and the inning continued. Instead of 2-2 going to the bottom of the 9th, the Astros hung a seven spot up on the scoreboard and won 9-2.
Per ESPN, Eovaldi responded to the apparent missed call that went against the Red Sox.
“I thought it was a strike, but again, I'm in the moment. I'm trying to make my pitches,” Eovaldi said after the game. “I'm attacking the zone.”
Red Sox manager Alex Cora was forgiving for Diaz and the call.
“I'm not going to get thrown out of this game, but we thought that pitch was a strike and he disagreed with us, but that's a tough job,” Cora said. “I don't think — yeah, it changes — if it's a strike, it changes the whole thing, right, but I think we had chances early on.”
“I know Laz since our days in Miami, you know? He used to cover our games when I played at the University of Miami. Every Friday, he was the man in those games, so it's a hard job. I understand that. It's a hard job,” Cora said.
Overall, it was a tough night for Diaz.
Home-plate umpire Laz Diaz has missed 21 ball-strike calls tonight, according to @ESPNStatsInfo. That is the most of any umpire this postseason. The green dot in the upper RH corner is the Eovaldi curveball that would've ended top of the ninth with the score 2-2.
It is now 9-2. pic.twitter.com/VzdyL4lth3
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 20, 2021
The Red Sox will look to bounce back in Game 5 as the Astros have now tied the series up at 2-2.
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