Big Pod Machine: Do the Reds have any early All-Star candidates beyond Hunter Greene?
Reds Beat Reporter Gordon Wittenmyer and Sports Reporter Pat Brennan discuss the current state of the Cincinnati Reds.
Fanduel Sports Network analyst Jeff Brantley blasted the umpires Tuesday night over a call during the Cincinnati Reds‘ second game of a four-game series against the Braves in Atlanta.
With Reds outfielder Blake Dunn facing Braves starter Chris Sale in the top of the 3rd inning with a 3-2 count, Dunn appeared to take Ball 4 or get hit by the pitch. Home-plate umpire Alex Mackay ruled that Dunn foul-tipped the ball, but replays showed Dunn did not.
Dunn could be heard on the broadcast saying the ball hit his batting glove. Mackay called Dunn out, and Reds manager Terry Francona came out to get an explanation.
The umpires met to discuss the call.
“I think at this point, if you’re the umpires, you’re just trying to get this right,” Brantley said. “I don’t think Terry’s gonna like this outcome. … You can’t really challenge a foul-ball call at this point. The only thing you can ask is did the ball hit him? It looked like it hit him right at the top of the batting glove. … That’s not the end of the bat, that’s the batting glove.”
The Reds challenged, but the Mackay’s ruling of a foul tip was upheld. Cincinnati lost its challenge.
“That is a terrible, terrible judgment. Terrible!” Brantley said. “There’s no place that that ball could’ve hit the bat judging by where the baseball was. The only place it could’ve hit was the batting glove. The umpires are getting worse. They’re not getting better.”