Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay didn’t hold back his frustration after a controversial scoring change ended Max Fried’s no-hit bid during Sunday’s game between the Yankees and Rays in Tampa.
What happened
Calling the YES Network broadcast, Kay was stunned when official scorer Bill Matthews changed a sixth-inning error on Paul Goldschmidt into a hit for Rays outfielder Chandler Simpson — long after the play had occurred.
“No, you didn’t miss a batter,” Kay told viewers coming back from a commercial break. “I am absolutely flabbergasted, ladies and gentlemen. The scorekeeper here at Steinbrenner Field, a man by the name of Bill Matthews, has changed the Simpson E3 into a hit while the Yankees were in the dugout. Just unfathomable.”
Controversial change ends Fried’s bid
The original play occurred in the bottom of the sixth inning, when Simpson reached base on what was initially ruled an error on Goldschmidt. The game continued with Fried’s no-hitter still intact — until, several innings later, the ruling was reversed and Simpson was credited with a hit.
“Either you call it when it happens, or you don’t change it three innings later,” Kay added. “It’s just unbelievable. Matthews is going to have a lot of questions thrown at him, and he’s going to have to give some pretty good answers.”
Fried ultimately gave up a clean hit to open the bottom of the eighth, rendering the scoring decision moot. He finished with 7 ⅔ innings, allowing just two hits as the Yankees shut out the Rays, 4–0.
Boone defends call but criticizes inconsistencies
Speaking with reporters after the win, Yankees manager Aaron Boone agreed with the updated scoring decision but questioned the lack of consistency from ballpark to ballpark.
“The reality is it was a hit,” Boone said. “I scratch my head at the official scorers nightly. They throw an error up on the board at Yankee Stadium, and then we go to these other places and they can fire up a hit with the best of them. It’s a different game in every other park, it really is.”
While Boone acknowledged that scorers have a “thankless job,” he admitted he has “some issues” with how plays are often judged on the road.
Scorer has history of controversial calls
This isn’t the first time scorer Bill Matthews has been in the spotlight for a high-profile decision. Back in 2011, during a Mariners-Rays game, he ruled a borderline play a hit that ended Felix Hernandez’s no-hit bid in the eighth inning — a call that also drew criticism at the time.
Though Sunday’s scoring change didn’t impact the final outcome — the Yankees still won and Fried’s effort remained dominant — it reignited debates around how and when official scorers should make such decisions, especially with potential no-hitters on the line.
For Michael Kay, it was a reminder that even a mid-game scoring revision can stir major headlines when it interferes with a historic pitching performance.
