Home plate umpire Chad Fairchild missed a foul ball in the ninth inning of Thursday’s game between the Rangers and the Cubs, nearly costing the Texans a win in the opener.
Miles Mastrobuoni, with runners on first and second base at the top of the frame, appeared to foul the second pitch from closer Jose Leclerc, but the ball went past catcher Jonah Heim and onto the turf. When it bounced up, Fairchild didn’t let it be known. Even though Heim was begging for a hit, contact was made.
Meanwhile, Michael Busch, who issued a walk earlier in the inning and advanced the bases on Leclerc’s second walk, scored from second base. Heim’s toss to Leclerc for the tag was bounced and he slid into safety as he headed back toward the mound. — gives the Cubs a 3-2 lead.
After the call, Heim was furious that the Rangers were even worse off.
He took off his mask, held out his hands in disbelief, and looked confused, but there was nothing the Rangers could do about it — that’s how they played. Not considered a considerable scenario under MLB rulesit remained a passed ball.
Fairchild told pool reporters after the game that he had watched the replay of the call, but dodged a question asking him what he thought after watching it again.
“Well, I’m going to stick with what I’ve been doing on the field,” Fairchild said. “If you have questions, I’m not going to talk about the video.”
But former Mets outfielder Travis Jankowski converted a slider from Cubs right-hander Adbert Alzolay into a 396-foot pinch-hit home run in the bottom of the box, sending the game into overtime. Pregame banner at Globe Life Field. In the end, Heim won the game when he duly scored the winning run on a two-out hit.
At 0-1, he hit a Drew Smyly sinker into the right-center gap, allowing Josh Jung to score from third base.
“A lot of emotions really came to the surface there,” Heim told ESPN’s SportsCenter after the game. “I obviously take full responsibility for what happened…the play should have ended. It’s all my fault.
“I’m glad Travis came out and made a big swing to tie the game. I’ll buy him dinner or something.”
Texas also had rookie Wyatt Langford hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning, hit his fifth home run against the Astros, and Adris Garcia, who had 15 RBIs and won ALCS MVP, hit a home run in the sixth inning. He scored a goal.
