Seattle Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford had some words for home plate umpire Andy Fletcher on Thursday.
In the sixth inning of the Mariners’ 9-3 loss to the Washington Nationals, Crawford was rung up on a called third strike from starting pitcher Mackenzie Gore with runners on the corners, no outs and Seattle down 2-0. The pitch was outside to the naked eye, but Fletcher still saw it as in the zone.
Immediately after he was punched out, Crawford could be heard yelling “That’s not a strike man!” at Fletcher, who responded by ejecting him. Crawford remained on the field to get his money’s worth until Mariners manager Dan Wilson stepped in and pushed him back to the dugout.
Crawford was replaced atop the Mariners lineup by Leo Rivas, who took over at second while Dylan Moore moved to cover shortstop.
MLB’s Statcast cameras sided with Crawford, showing the pitch to be at least a ball outside.
That result wound up being significant. Julio Rodriguez struck out on the next at-bat to give the Mariners their second out, then Cal Raleigh reached base on a hit-by-pitch. With the bases loaded and two outs, Randy Arozarena also struck out to keep Seattle scoreless for the inning.
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