For the second day in a row, the Milwaukee Brewers were on the losing end of a momentum-shifting decision made by an umpiring crew.
This time, the umpires claim they got the call correct.
Milwaukee thought it knotted the game in the ninth inning of a 1-0 loss to Tampa Bay on Monday night when Jake Bauers’ third strike went past Rays catcher René Pinto, allowing Sal Frelick to score from third. Bauers was declared out, and Frelick was sent back to third after plate umpire Ryan Additon determined that the hitter’s backswing struck 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 told a pool reporter. “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.
“Crazy play,” Pinto said.
Rays reliever Jason Adam hit Rhys Hoskins with a pitch to load the bases, but struck out Blake Perkins to end the game.
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.
“We deserve to at least be still playing right now,” Murphy said.
Murphy said he believed interference shouldn’t have been called in this case because Bauer’s backswing didn’t hit Pinto’s helmet until after the ball already had gotten past the catcher.
“In my opinion, that’s a bad call, they made a mistake and they changed the game,” Murphy said.
Guccione stated that the regulations for backswing interference still apply even if the ball has already passed the catcher.
