The Astros' six-game winning streak is over as they lost to the Rays 9-8 on Thursday, but it very well may not have ended had it not been for a strike-three call in the ninth inning.
Houston entered the ninth down 9-7 to the Rays, but Abraham Toro's solo home run cut the lead to 9-8 with no outs.
Then, after Robinson Chirinos struck out, Reddick appeared to draw a walk in the next plate appearance. We say appeared because just about every angle of the 3-2 pitch looks like a ball.
Josh Reddick was NOT pleased with that called third strike.#RaysUp pic.twitter.com/dGrQxXTg9L
— FOX Sports Florida & Sun (@FOXSportsFL) August 29, 2019
But, alas for Houston, home plate umpire Jordan Baker called the pitch a strike and subsequently ejected Reddick after he protested profusely.
This was the type of day it was for the Astros as the Rays took a 4-2 lead on a two-run home run from Travis D'Arnaud earlier in the game after Zack Greinke had two borderline pitches called balls.
Two weeks ago, former Astros infielder Tony Kemp was rung up on a pitch well above the zone by Marty Foster in the ninth inning in a game the Cubs lost.
🤖
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 14, 2019
WTF is that call? pic.twitter.com/cYIEqvpeeE
That instance was even worse since Chicago had a runner in scoring position at the time.