The Los Angeles Dodgers entered the ninth inning of Tuesday’s game against the Colorado Rockies down by five runs and seemingly trudging toward having their modest winning streak snapped.
Andy Pages opened the frame with a walk, Miguel Rojas singled and Miguel Vargas loaded the bases with a walk of his own. On the sixth pitch of his at-bat, Jason Heyward launched a pinch-hit grand slam to bring the Dodgers within a run.
A few batters later, Teoscar Hernández stepped in with two on and two outs. Rockies reliever Victor Vodnick got ahead in a 1-and-2 count and fired a fastball above the strike zone, inducing a questionable no-call on a check swing.
Hernández homered on the next pitch, giving the Dodgers an 11-9 lead and eventual win. That enraged Jake Cave, who voiced his anger with first base umpire Lance Barksdale’s call on the appeal that ultimately swung the game, per Scotty Gange of 9News Denver:
“I had Lance look me right in the face and tell me, I mean I was yelling at him from right during the inning, but then when we made the last out, I’m running in and he looks at me right in the face and goes, ‘Cave, it’s not even close.’ So that’s when I really got pissed. Are you that out of tune with the game to where you’re going to tell me it’s not close? Everybody in the world can see that it was at least close. That game is won on that swing. That’s a swing and miss and the game is won and we beat the Los Angeles Dodgers. So yeah, I’m pissed.”
Rockies manager Bud Black was ejected from the game for arguing with Barksdale on his check-swing call. Cave initially watched the flight of Hernández’s opposite-field drive before turning back toward the infield to shout as Barksdale as the ball carried over the fence.
Cave continued to accost Barksdale on his way to the dugout between innings but he was not ejected. Cave released even more frustration once Evan Phillips sealed the Dodgers’ dramatic comeback win with a strikeout.
Rockies have reason to be upset?
From multiple replays, it appeared Hernández went far enough into a swinging motion that has garnered a call for going around in other instances and Barksdale erred.
But fact of the matter is the Dodgers scored seven runs in ninth inning for an improbable comeback that shouldn’t have come down to an umpire’s call anyhow.
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