As Devin Williams exited the field Wednesday night, having just walked in the go-ahead run on a borderline pitch, he gave umpire Brian Walsh a piece of his mind.
“I had four (strikes),” Williams seemingly said in reference to pitches he believed had been called incorrectly in the 8-7 loss to the Astros. “You missed four.”
Walsh gave Williams the boot — the first ejection of the veteran’s career — and moments later ejected Aaron Boone after the Yankees’ manager unloaded on him for allegedly missing several key calls.
The @umpireauditor X account stated Walsh missed 21 calls Wednesday and 15 burned the Yankees.
Williams later doubled down on his assertion that Walsh squeezed him.
“I already looked at it. He definitely missed four, which is what I told him and he threw me out for it,” Williams said after allowing four runs on a double and three walks. “When you’re making good pitches, which I was, not getting those calls really changes the course of an at-bat.”
Here’s a look at the four pitches that Williams seemingly felt went against him:
Williams specifically said Walsh missed two calls against Sanchez.
With Carlos Correa on second with no outs in a 4-4 game, Williams started the lefty with a borderline 96-mph fastball that may have clipped the zone.
Both the MLB.com and Baseball Savant boxes showed the pitch marginally at best landing in the zone.
It’s possible that catcher Austin Wells having to reach across his body influenced Walsh’s call.
Two pitches later in a 1-1 count, Williams threw a 95-mph fastball to the outside corner that certainly seemed to be in the zone but did not get called.
Both the MLB.com and Baseball Savant boxscores have this pitch safely in the zone that it should have been ruled a strike.
Walsh, though, checked with the third base umpire to see if Sanchez had swung and after Ramon De Jesus ruled no, the pitch was ruled a ball.
Sanchez ultimately walked in five pitches to put two on with no outs.
“At the end of the day, that changes outcomes,” Williams said. “I should have had Sanchez out too, instead of 2-1.”
Williams notched two strikeouts while walking another batter to load the bases for Houston’s No. 9 hitter in Taylor Trammell.
The righty reliever fell behind in the count, 2-0, before throwing a 96-mph fastball that seemed to clip the zone, according to both the MLB.com and Baseball Savant boxes.
Walsh, though, ruled the pitch a ball, putting Williams one pitch away from disaster.
“The 2-0 pitch was a strike,” Williams said. “That turns into a 2-2 count instead of a 3-1 count.”
Williams’ final pitch put the Yankees behind for good.
In a 3-1 count with the bases juiced, Williams tossed an 86-mph changeup that Walsh called a ball.
Now, there is some debate that can be had with this pitch.
Wells certainly framed it well, and it appeared to miss the zone on television. The MLB.com pitch tracker had the ball below the zone with perhaps a small bit hitting the zone.
The Baseball Savant, box, though, graded it a strike.
The walk gave the Astros the lead for good, and Camilo Doval continued his rough go as a Yankee by allowing all inherited three base runners to score and make it an 8-4 lead.
The Yankees battled back with three runs in the ninth inning, but the game ended with Wilson ringing up Jazz Chisholm on a 3-2 pitch that missed the zone.
Said Williams: “It’s just ridiculous to have the inning that I had and then Jazz got the bat taken out of his hands on a pitch that was a lot further from the zone than pitches I was making.”