The Minnesota Twins have been on the wrong side of some generous strike zones this season but they finally benefitted from a egregious call from home plate umpire Andy McKay during Sunday afternoon’s win over the Philadelphia Phillies.
The moment came as Caleb Thielbar was protecting a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning. Coming in relief of Griffin Jax with one out, Thielbar get Kyle Schwarber to pop up for the second out of the inning before facing Alec Bohm with the bases loaded.
Thielbar jumped ahead to a 1-2 count early in the at-bat but ran the count full with two straight balls. With the game on the line, Thielbar’s four-seam fastball appeared to be inside but McKay rang Bohm up for strike three to end the inning.
Thielbar gets a gift from the umpire to strike out Bohm with the bases loaded, Bohm throws bat & helmet down pic.twitter.com/IiXBBX4fsP
— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) August 13, 2023
Caleb Thielbar (and Ryan Jeffers) got some help from the umpire on strike three in the biggest spot of the game. pic.twitter.com/xh8hLGaqyy
— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) August 13, 2023
Bohm was ejected after slamming his bat and his helmet in response to the call and the crowd at Citizens Bank Ballpark rained down chants of “Ump, you suck!” as the game went into the eighth inning.
Now we got "Ump You Suck" Chant as the umpire tossed Alec Bohm to end the 7th inning#Phillies #RingTheBell #MINvsPHI pic.twitter.com/JcrguVgMLB
— David Malandra Jr (@DaveMReports) August 13, 2023
Thielbar went on to face Bryce Harper to lead off the bottom of the eighth and benefitted from what appeared to be another generous call from MacKay to earn his second strikeout. While Harper merely pleaded his case and trotted back to the dugout in disgust, Thomson had enough and became the second Philly to get ejected from the game.
And now Bryce Harper gives the ump an earful pic.twitter.com/6DN7XowrUC
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 13, 2023
As it turned out, this call was better than the first as Thielbar’s pitch clipped the plate by approximately 38.7 centimeters but it didn’t stop Philly fans from complaining online.
For whatever it's worth: Strike three to Bryce Harper was a strike, just barely.
Basically a perfect pitch from Caleb Thielbar vs. a left-handed hitter. pic.twitter.com/sqhbnQvTv1
— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) August 13, 2023
Bryce Harper, not a fan of home plate umpire Alex MacKay.
Credit: @CrossingBroad
— Phillies Nation (@PhilliesNation) August 13, 2023
Two straight Phillies batters have struck out on pitches outside of the zone. Rob Thomson has been tossed. Bryce Harper is hot.
Home plate umpire Alex MacKay will need a private security detail if he wants to escape this city without bodily harm. The fans are losing it.
— Colin Daly (@colin_daly21) August 13, 2023
LA: "It just amazes me how bad these umpires have gotten the last few years. It's been terrible"
…
Franzke: "Alex MacKay can go back and take a look. Those are not good calls. All of the boxes that they can throw at you… those pitches were not in any of them" pic.twitter.com/H9Bu6D0OWB
— Nick Piccone (@_piccone) August 13, 2023
https://twitter.com/keithlaw/status/1690811837259169792
Ken Rosenthal: “Philly fans are getting soft…”
[Phillies fans grabbing duct tape, bottled water, wire, & a car battery & surrounding home plate ump Alex MacKay’s car]
— DFAntastic (@PhillyTradesman) August 13, 2023
Me hearing Alex Mackay call for help while being swarmed by a mob of angry Phillies fans: pic.twitter.com/lrtxey7zzd
— Phils mafia (@PhilsMafia) August 13, 2023
"Go back to Minnesota!," a fan yelled to home plate umpire Alex MacKay, just because the Phillies are playing the Twins.
— Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) August 13, 2023
Unfortunately, this is not MacKay’s first questionable call as he was berated by Chicago Cubs manager David Ross last month.
David Ross: "We've got one goddamn game before you get a break and you're that f***ing bad already?" pic.twitter.com/l51P486P35
— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) July 9, 2023
Minnesota fans know how brutal Philadelphia fans can be but they’re probably just happy to get the win. After dropping three of four games to the Tigers, the Twins took a series from a Phillies team that had gone 39-20 over its last 59 games entering this weekend and will look to use that momentum as they host the Tigers for another series at Target Field beginning Tuesday night.
