Umpires gave Yordan Álvarez unfair advantage vs Red Sox

Umpires gave Astros slugger Yordan Álvarez an advantage over Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox picked up their first series win against the Houston Astros but were unable to complete a sweep, thanks in part to some poor umpiring.

Bad calls by MLB umpires? Must be a day that ends in ‘y.’

In the bottom of the third inning, Astros slugger Yordan Álvarez went up to bat and was gifted a fourth strike. As if he or his team needs another advantage when they’re one of the best teams in baseball this year.

2013 World Series champ-turned-NESN analyst Will Middlebrooks was among those who called out the miss:

It must be nice to get an extra strike, especially when your team is already sitting pretty atop their division standings and you’re an All-Star.

Álvarez has been one of the most dominant hitters in the league this year, leading all hitters in on-base percentage, OPS, and OPS+. On Tuesday night, Kevin Millar compared him to none other than David Ortiz.

While the freebie strike certainly wasn’t fair, it’s far from the first time an umpire’s gotten it wrong. It’s also not the only reason the Sox lost; attribute that to some poor pitching and a sleepy offense. Xander Bogaerts’ 150th career home run in the top of the ninth is the only reason his team didn’t get shut out.

All’s well that ends well, though. The Sox won their first series since June and don’t have to face the Astros for the rest of the regular season.