Fans are unhappy with umpire’s outrageous call against the Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves were on the receiving end of a questionable call just a few days into the new MLB season. The Braves thrashed the Philadelphia Phillies 12 – 4 on Saturday at the Citizens Bank Park.
However, fans were unhappy with a call made by Bruce Dreckman, the umpire at home plate, that they felt cost them three valuable runs in the first inning.
Braves’ Max Fried pitched right into center of the strike zone and it should have sent Castellanos back to the bench and ended Philly’s innings. But Dreckman called it a ball instead of a strike, which kept the Phillies’ OF at the plate. Later in the inning, this was followed by 32-year-old OF getting his side a 3-2 lead.
A section of MLB fans were upset about the umpire’s decision. They are also worried about other dubious calls of strikes and balls being made by the umpires throughout the season. Some took to social media to reflect on the call. One fan wrote:
“Shohei Ohtani must’ve bet on Phillies”
Fans react to the umpire’s outrageous call against the Braves
Atlanta Braves place All-Star catcher Sean Murphy on 10 days IL following oblique injury
Luckily for the Braves, they still have some solid backstop depth. Travis d’Arnaud is the team’s replacement for the spot until Murphy returns.
Before he left the pitch with the injury on Friday, the All-Star catcher was 0-for-3 with a strikeout. In 2023, he appeared in 108 games, hitting .251/.365/.478 with a career-high 21 home runs and 68 RBIs.