MLB has seen its fair share of messed up umpire calls this season, and Monday night was no different. During a game between the Angels and Mariners, the home plate umpire forgot the count and consequently let a player walk on a three-ball count.
The game was tied 2-2 at the top of ninth inning as Angels' Aaron Loup was pitching to Mariners first baseman Carlos Santana. Santana asked umpire Laz Diaz what the count was when it was 2-2 -- which was what the scoreboard correctly showed. However, Diaz held up his fingers and indicated that it was 3-1.
At that point, nobody questioned it.
The pitch that followed was a ball, which led to Santana talking a walk to first base. This seemingly did not confuse any players on the field, but the announcers on the Angels' TV broadcast noticed, in part because the scoreboard on the TV did not change when Diaz made the 3-1 signal.
After the game, Diaz owned up to his mistake when he was speaking to the media.
"I messed that one up," the umpire admitted.
The Mariners went on to get four runs later in the inning, and eventually won the game, 6-2.
Yes, Diaz made a somewhat unusual mistake, but he's far from being the only one to mess up. On Aug. 3, home plate umpire Jim Wolf gave Houston Astros' Yordan Álvarez four strikes when Boston Red Sox pitcher Rich Hill was on the mound. The Red Sox ended up winning that game, 1-0.