Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman. (Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports)
The Atlanta Braves are heading back home in the World Series tied with the Astros despite, or because of, some horrific calls from the umpires in Houston.
With everything on the line for the Braves and the Astros, it would be nice if MLB’s umpire problems didn’t rear their ugly heads.
But this is baseball, so of course, bad calls were in play as the two teams battled it out in Houston.
Atlanta took Game 1 even though home plate umpire Chris Conroy was noticeably biased towards the home team. In Game 2, Houston grabbed the advantage while more questionable calls went the Astros way.
Braves screwed: 3 worst calls from the World Series in Houston
Freddie Freeman’s 6-ball “strikeout”
Freddie Freeman’s first at-bat of Game 2 was a stunning illustration of just how wrong a home plate umpire can get it.
All six pitches Freeman saw in that at-bat were balls. Only one of them came close to the strike zone. Yet he ended up striking out.
The Braves would have had scoring opportunities in the first inning if Freeman had taken first base on a walk like he was owed. Instead, the Astros got out of trouble with men on first and second.
Houston’s bats ended up getting hot while the Braves defense utterly fell apart. Some early runs for Atlanta might have changed everything about the complexion of the game.