Monday’s matchup between the Chicago Cubs and the San Francisco Giants left Cubs fans feeling a bit frustrated with the strike zone of home plate umpire Manny Gonzalez. And even Giants announcers Dave Flemming and Hunter Pence felt as though the Giants got lucky thanks to Gonzalez’s questionable call behind the plate.
The Giants went into the bottom of the ninth inning with just a one-run lead. Cubs designated hitter Patrick Wisdom came to the plate to lead off the inning.
The first two pitches of the at-bat were both balls from Giants closer Camilo Doval. Doval’s third pitch also came in a few inches off the plate. But Manny Gonzalez unbelievably called the pitch a strike.
Patrick Wisdom instantly looked back at Gonzalez in disbelief. And on the call of the game on NBC Sports Bay Area, Dave Fleming and Hunter Pence were just as shocked that the Giants got such a lucky break.
“Wow. Got the call there. Wisdom can’t believe it and neither can I,” said Flemming.
“It’s been uh, one of those games,” responded Pence.
"Wow. Got the call there. Wisdom can't believe it and neither can I."
"It's been uh, one of those games."
Even the Giants announcers couldn't hide how bad this call from Manny Gonzalez was. pic.twitter.com/PonMUkVqBU
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 18, 2024
The difference between a 3-0 count and a 2-1 count may not seem like much. But in reality, it changes the entire outlook of the at-bat for both Patrick Wisdom in the batter’s box and Camilo Doval on the bump.
Wisdom even saw another bal later in the at-bat, which means that he would have drawn a walk if he had gotten the correct call made by Manny Gonzalez.
Instead, Wisdom popped up to first base on the sixth pitch of the at-bat. Camilo Doval would go on to retire the next two Cubs batters, resulting in a 7-6 victory.
Obviously, nobody will know how things could have changed if Wisdom was able to get on base to lead off the inning. But Dave Flemming and Hunter Pence certainly seem to believe the strike zone played a pretty large factor in the end of the game.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.