(Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
On Monday, the Arizona Diamondbacks dropped Game 3 of the World Series against the Texas Rangers at home, at Chase Field.
An early home run by Corey Seager put the D-Backs in a rut, but they actually reached the ninth inning down just two runs and with a good chance of putting something together to try and come back.
During the first at-bat of the last inning, Rangers closer Jose Leclerc was facing D-Backs catcher Gabriel Moreno.
Moreno had worked the count in his favor, 3-1, and took a ball outside that had the look of ball four.
Umpire Alfonso Marquez, however, called it a strike.
Moreno was already off to first, but had to return: it was a clear ball.
On the very next pitch, Moreno grounded out and Leclerc went from a potentially no-out, man at first situation to a much better one-out, bases-empty scenario.
In baseball, and in win probability, that carries a lot of weight.
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo feels that the inning could have gone differently had Moreno gotten that walk (that he deserved).
He could have substituted Moreno for a pinch runner to apply some pressure on Leclerc, perhaps score a run and make it a one-run game with big batters such as Christian Walker and Tommy Pham due up.
He never had the chance, though.
“Torey Lovullo said he was up at 3:30 am ‘steaming’ mad about the strike call on Moreno in the ninth last night,” MLB insider Chelsea Janes tweeted.
Torey Lovullo said he was up at 3:30 am “steaming” mad about the strike call on Moreno in the ninth last night.
— Chelsea Janes (@chelsea_janes) October 31, 2023
Obviously, as Janes reported, Lovullo had trouble sleeping thinking about the call that could have changed the outcome of the game and, therefore, the series.
Now, Game 4 at Chase Field is a must-win for Arizona.
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