Austin Wells was seen tossing gloves toward Max Fried, almost as if the Yankees catcher hoped home plate umpire Derek Thomas would make a favorable call soon.
A missed strike could have helped the Yankees navigate a tricky fifth inning, yet Thomas chose to let it slide, leaving Astros right fielder Cam Smith to capitalize on Freed’s 2-2 fastball, which caught the edge of the zone.
But Thomas didn’t call anything.
Wells squatted in disbelief.
Shortly after, Smith scored two runs, widening Houston’s lead.
This wasn’t the only call from Thomas that had the Yankees up in arms, as they ultimately lost 7-1 to the Astros. This marked the fifth time manager Aaron Boone was ejected this season, making him the most ejected manager in MLB.
“It would’ve been great, for sure,” Freed commented on the call that might have changed things. “But in the end, nobody’s really going to remember it.”
Boone’s anger towards Thomas didn’t simmer for long.
Players like Trent Grisham, Ben Rice, and Aaron Judge experienced pitches that clearly missed the zone according to MLB.com.
After two innings, when Thomas called a second strike against Ryan McMahon, Boone decided enough was enough. He sprang from the Yankees’ dugout to argue, insisting, “You need to fix it.” After the game, Boone, now facing a tough stretch with just three singles scored, remarked that Thomas’ calls were “a bit all over the place.”
“I mean, I was on the ride. A lot has been said. But it’s over now. That’s not why we lost the game,” he added.
The Yankees’ struggles were evident; they didn’t get a hit until Rice’s single in the sixth.
Freed had a solid outing through five innings, throwing just 36 pitches.
However, as the inning progressed, after a strikeout and a foul ball, a missed call on an 88.8 mph sinker pushed Thomas to require two more pitches for the next six at-bats, altering the flow of the game.
“I just aimed to hold it tight and stay within two runs,” Freed said in reflection.
