Marlins' Mattingly rips 'shaky' umpiring in loss to Mets
The Miami Marlins dropped a 7-3 decision to the New York Mets on Monday and manager Don Mattingly attributes at least some of the decision to the umpiring crew.
"It was a rough night for those guys," the skipper told Wells Dusenbury of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. "They cost us a run early. ... I guess I'm not supposed to complain about calls, but the league needs to look at it because it was shaky tonight. I don't understand a lot of it tonight. Another call at third base on a checked swing that wasn't close.
"I understand the whole 'Marlins aren't supposed to be good this year' and I guess it's OK to pile on. But ... it's got to be better than that. It was shaky tonight."
Marlins starter Caleb Smith came out firing, striking out the side in order in the first inning. But the left-hander ran into some trouble in the subsequent frame, giving up a single to Michael Conforto after seemingly earning strike three on a 1-2 slider. He then forfeited a one-run double down the line to Jeff McNeil after appearing to earn a strikeout on an 0-2 slider.
Both pitches were down-and-in to the left-handed swingers but landed in the zone, according to MLB Gameday.
Caleb Smith has Jeff McNeil down 0-2, but umpire calls Pitch No. 3 (clearly in the strike zone) a ball, extending AB.
— Wells Dusenbury (@DuseReport) April 1, 2019
Three pitches later, McNeil blasts an RBI double, cutting #Marlins lead to 2-1. #RobotUmps pic.twitter.com/uSYhN16H3g
"(Umpire) Sam (Holbrook) misses two (calls)," Mattingly continued. "Conforto strike three and McNeil strike three. And it cost us probably 15 pitches and it cost us a run."
Another questionable call occurred in the ninth inning, as Juan Lagares was ruled to be hit by a pitch that struck his bat while he attempted to bunt on a two-strike count. Mattingly believed the Mets center fielder should have been called out on strikes and challenged the call, but the play was upheld.
"He never pulled the bat back in any way shape or form," Mattingly said of Lagares. "I'm assuming the league will look at that and then even on the appeal, we're looking at it and the ball hits the bat, then hits his hand. ... That's a shaky call, to be honest with you."
Lagares wound up scoring a key run on Pete Alonso's three-run homer. Mets closer Edwin Diaz eventually allowed the tying run to come to the plate in the bottom of the inning, loading the bases with nobody out. But he struck out the next three hitters to seal the victory.
The Marlins (2-3) are one game into a three-game set against their divisional rivals. The series will continue to feature the same umpiring crew including Holbrook, Dan Iassogna, Jim Wolf, and Manny Gonzalez.