NEW YORK — Max Fried and the New York Yankees were left fuming over several questionable calls from home plate umpire Derek Thomas in Sunday’s 7-1 loss to the Houston Astros at Yankee Stadium.
The defining moment came in the fifth inning with the Yankees trailing 2-0. Fried delivered a 2-2 fastball to Astros rookie Cam Smith that appeared to catch the outside edge for strike three. Catcher Austin Wells reacted as if the inning was over, pumping his glove toward the mound.
But Thomas kept his arms at his sides. No strike. And missed strike calls spark costly inning in Bronx defeat.
Two pitches later, Smith lined a bases-clearing double to the right-field corner, driving in two runs and doubling Houston’s lead.
“It definitely would’ve been nice,” Fried said of the call. “But no one’s gonna look back and really care, right? You just gotta be able to make the pitch and get out of it anyway.”
Boone tossed after early strike zone disputes
The controversial fifth-inning call wasn’t the first time Thomas drew the Yankees’ ire. In the opening frame, Trent Grisham, Ben Rice and Aaron Judge each had pitches outside the strike zone — according to MLB.com’s pitch tracking — called for strikes.
Two innings later, a borderline sinker to Ryan McMahon was called strike two. Manager Aaron Boone, visibly frustrated, had heard enough.
Boone shouted from the dugout, prompting Thomas to eject him on the spot. The skipper stormed out to argue face-to-face, telling the umpire, “You f—ing need to fix it,” according to YES Network audio. Crew chief Jordan Baker stepped in to keep the two apart.
“I mean, I was on [Thomas] a lot,” Boone said afterward. “That’s over and done with. It is what it is. That isn’t the reason we lost this game.”
Yankees’ offense sputters again
The Yankees managed just three singles all afternoon, not recording their first hit until Rice singled in the sixth inning. The loss marked their seventh defeat in nine games, dropping them to 62-56 and keeping them clinging to a wild card spot.
Boone acknowledged the inconsistency of the strike zone, describing it as “a little all over the place,” but placed the larger share of blame on his team’s lack of offense.
Fifth inning meltdown changes the game
Fried, who had been sharp through the first four innings, saw his outing unravel in the fifth. The missed strike call to Smith extended the at-bat, forcing Fried to throw two extra pitches before the double that made it 4-0.
The left-hander ended the inning after a 36-pitch grind, but the damage had been done.
“Just wanted to be able to come out of that [jam], especially keeping it in a tight game and keeping it within two,” Fried said. “Pushing it to four, it’s on me, and it’s frustrating.”
Mounting frustration in the Bronx
Sunday’s game encapsulated much of what has plagued the Yankees during their August slump: shaky starting pitching in key moments, an offense that disappears for stretches, and mounting frustration with umpiring decisions.
The combination left the Yankees with another loss, a frustrated ace, and a manager ejected for the fifth time this season.
As Fried put it, “It’s frustrating,” and for the Yankees, time to turn things around is running short.
What do you think? Leave your comment below.
The umpires can do whatever they want because they have no threat of losing their job. Manfred has brought technology in the game to cover up for the bad umpires. How about if the umpires know that sr the ASB and at the end of the season that they can lose their job and they no longer automatically get playoff games simply because it’s their turn?