Astros’ Yordan Álvarez somehow gets four strikes in single at-bat

If a pitch is called as a third strike but no one enforces it, does it count?

This philosophical thought experiment was answered during Wednesday’s game between the Red Sox and Astros at Minute Maid Park in Houston. 

In the bottom of the third inning, Astros designated hitter Yordan Álvarez stepped into the box to face Rich Hill. The 42-year-old pitcher started Álvarez with a curveball that missed low for a ball but then was able to come back with another curve for a strike and a slider that was fouled off. Smelling a strikeout on the 1-2 count, Hill dotted the high inside corner with a sidearm fastball, which home plate umpire Jim Wolf promptly called a strike.

Yordan Álvarez
Yordan Álvarez
Getty

Despite being the third strike of the at-bat, all parties involved seemingly forgot the count and continued as if Álvarez wasn’t out. The 25-year-old slugger did little with his additional chance, however, weakly grounding out to first on the next pitch.

Though the umpire, pitcher, batter, catcher and broadcasters all didn’t seem to notice the miscue, MLB.com’s Gameday certainly caught the blunder. 

Though the umpire, pitcher, batter, catcher and broadcasters all didn’t seem to notice the miscue, MLB.com's Gameday certainly caught the blunder.
MLB.com’s Gameday caught the blunder.
MLB.com

Astros manager Dusty Baker didn’t catch the miscue either.

“Everybody missed it,” he said.

The improbable sequence of events had little impact on the course of the game, as the Astros cruised to a 6-1 win and improved their record to 68-38, good enough for first in the AL West.

As for Álvarez, he surely doesn’t need any more help from the umpires amid an All-Star season in which he boasts a .307/.413/.633 slash line and 30 home runs.

source: nypost.com