“I thought Angel Hernandez retired“; “These umps are garbage” - Padres fans react to controversial strikeout that ended game against D’backs

Fans reacted about the umpiring as the San Diego Padres dropped their series opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Petco Park in an unexpected manner on Thursday. The Padres were one run shot, losing 4-3, but the last strikeout call flared tempers, as many thought that it was out of the strike zone.

Jake Cronenworth walked up to the plate during the ninth inning to salvage the situation but was called out by home plate umpire Erich Bacchus. Cronenworth was forced to exit the game, with a ball thrown off-target by Paul Sewald. The game ended unexpectedly, and fans were unhappy with the strike three call.

Reacting to the game-ending call, fans took to social media to express their thoughts. Most fans disagreed with the call and trolled the umpire on X.

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Here's a look at some of the fan reactions.

"I thought Angel Hernandez retired lmao," wrote one fan on X.

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"These umps are garbage," another fan wrote.

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"Horrible. Took the bat out of his hands with the game on the line, umpires are a disgrace," one fan added.

Comments continued to pour in as fans condemned the umpire for his controversial call. Some fans continued

"ump show strikes again," one fan chipped in.

"Is he related to Angel Hernandez?" one fan asked.

"Really bad call, especially considering that same pitch was thrown just slightly closer to the zone or in the zone and was called a ball," one fan chimed in.

Padres manager Mike Shildt disagrees with umpire's call

Manager Mike Shildt shared a few words with the home plate umpire but the game was over. Shildt was unhappy with the decision as he shed light on the incident in a post-game interview.

"You can't end the game with the ball six inches off the plate borderline high. That's just not acceptable. Again, we lost, I’ll take ownership of that. I don’t want to blame anybody. But that’s a bad way to end a ballgame,” Shildt said.

As for Cronenworth, he was upset about the call, saying that it was clearly a ball. Cronenworth was shocked by the decision that ended the Padres game. The loss dropped the Padres to a 32-34 record on the season.

About the author

Cresswell McCoy is a baseball journalist at Sportskeeda having almost 7 years of prior experience in content development. He holds and Master’s degree in Media and Communication Studies, and his baseball journey began when he joined an MLB betting site as a writer.

Cresswell supports the Philadelphia Phillies because of their top-notch roster and the entertainment they provide, and also admires the New Your Yankees because of their legacy in the sport. His favorite players are Bryce Harper, Gerrit Cole, Giancarlo Stanton and Brandon Marsh, while his favorite coach is Aaron Boone.

Some of his favorite baseball moments in recent times include Giancarlo Stanton's walk-off grand slam against the Pirates in 2022, Aaron Judge's iconic 62nd home run and the time Juan Soto provoked Miles Mikolas with his shuffle.

Cresswell's strengths lie in deeply analyzing playing styles of individual players, analyzing teams’ defensive strategies and batting approaches. He ensures accuracy in his articles by sourcing information only from official MLB handles and reliable insiders.

In his spare time, Cresswell is into heavy metal music and plays the guitar, and also enjoys hiking, camping in the woods and honing his survival skills.

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Edited by Bhargav