Phillies benefit from horrible check swing call in win over Pirates

Bryce Harper Says It's World Series or Bust for Young Players - Yahoo Sports

The Philadelphia Phillies’ late-inning rally on Friday night got a little bit of help from the umpiring crew.

Philadelphia pulled off a come-from-behind win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pa. The turning point came in the seventh inning when the Phillies were trailing 3-1.

They had two runners on and one out with star slugger Bryce Harper at the plate. On a 3-2 pitch outside from Pittsburgh’s Ryan Borucki, Harper checked his swing and appeared to go around. But upon the appeal to John Libka, the third-base umpire, Libka ruled that Harper had somehow held up.

As a result, Harper drew the walk, loading the bases. From there, the Pirates scored four times in the inning (on two more walks, a hit-by-pitch, and a sacrifice fly) and went on to win 8-4.

Pirates interim manager Don Kelly was irate about the check swing call and let his gripes be known. As a result, Libka ejected him from the game almost immediately.

Here is the video (in which you can see that Harper’s bat clearly appeared to cross home plate as even the television broadcasters said that they believed Harper had swung).

Pirates manager Don Kelly didn’t like this check swing call and got ejected pic.twitter.com/TRQOi5Xmrf

https://twitter.com/JomboyMedia/status/1923574909021638977?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1923574909021638977%7Ctwgr%5Eac953e4c766c45c2c5635ac9770d53c8750f0787%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Flarrybrownsports.com%2Fbaseball%2Fphillies-check-swing-call-pirates%2F698043

MLB rules remain unclear on what exactly constitutes a swing, often leaving it up to the subjective judgment of the umpiring crew. Perhaps Friday’s hard-to-believe call was simply karmic justice for Harper, who was once ejected (by Angel Hernandez of all people) for arguing an awful check swing call that went against him during a game against the Pirates in 2023.

Related Posts

BREAKING: Twins pitchers look to throw another gem against Brewers

The Minnesota Twins have enjoyed sterling pitching en route to extending their winning streak to 12 games. Fresh off back-to-back shutouts, the Twins will look to continue…

REPORT: Offense silent again as Brewers shut out by Twins

Brewers manage just five hits and went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. After a quick return of the offense on Wednesday afternoon, it’s gone silent again…

Phillies’ Aaron Nola Sends Heartfelt Message After Injury News

Durable Phillies starter Aaron Nola goes on injured list as Philadelphia promotes Mick Abel to make his MLB debut.

Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw feeling ‘gratitude’ to get back on mound Saturday

Kershaw made just seven starts last season and jokes that he was tired of “taking up space.” This will be his 18th season with the Dodgers, tying Zack Wheat and Bill Russell for the fra…

Dodgers roster move proves they’re done pretending James Outman is part of the future

The Los Angeles Dodgers need more from their outfield spots than James Outman can provide, and his replacement was just called up to the big leagues.

Dodgers hit into franchise record five double plays in Freeway Series opener loss

Dustin May’s start had mixed results, but the Dodgers hit into five double plays in eight innings and only mustered two runs of support.