The 2023 World Series was officially tied up at one game apiece after the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Texas Rangers 9-1 in Game 2 on Saturday. Now, the series headed to Phoenix for the next three games, beginning on Monday night. The last thing that fans wanted to see was the umpires getting involved with questionable calls.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, the Diamondbacks trailed 3-1. Catcher Gabriel Moreano stepped up to the plate to take on Rangers reliever Jose Leclerc. Moreno faced a 2-2 count on the fifth pitch, thrown outside the strike zone by Leclerc. Yet, home plate umpire Alfonso Marquez called it a strike.
Look at the fifth pitch thrown on the chart in the tweet below, courtesy of Yahoo Sports' Hannah Keyser. It is truly a call that Angel Hernandez would be proud of.
Instead of a 3-2 count for Moreno, it remained at 2-2. Moreno would hit a grounder to third baseman Josh Jung and get thrown out at first base.
Alfonso Marquez's strike zone comes into question in Game 3 of World Series
Yes, the fifth strike of the at-bat was a called strike on the outside. Yet, on pitch No. 2, Marquez called a pitch low but inside the strike zone a ball.
There was one other notable at-bat that stuck out, and that was Rangers first baseman Nathaniel Lowe's in the fourth inning. With Lowe facing a 3-2 count on six pitches thrown, Diamondbacks starting pitcher Brandon Pfaadt threw a pitch inside the strike zone away from Lowe. Yet, Marquez called it a ball and allowed Lowe to walk.
The chart comes courtesy of Baseball America's Kyle Glaser.
All-in-all, not the greatest game called behind home plate by Marquez. Here's hoping David Rackley has a better performance for Game 4 on Tuesday night.
