The Dodgers found themselves once again frustrated, but this time there was an obvious cause. Home plate umpire Rob Drake was getting an earful from both sides for his wildly inconsistent strike zone. Frustrations finally boiled over when Drake punched out Justin Turner looking to end the game.
While the pitch itself looked be a strike, Turner was not happy about the call, and let his frustrations be known.
Justin Turner said he asked ump Rob Drake after the final pitch, “You called that a strike?”
"He told me it was right down the middle, which was pretty upsetting,” Turner said. "If he thinks that’s down the middle, no wonder he was missing a lot of pitches throughout the night."
— Pedro Moura (@pedromoura) August 27, 2019
He had to separated from Rob Drake after being called out on strikes, but Turner’s actions were caused by more than just that single pitch. All game the veteran umpire Drake was liberal with his zone.
More from Turner.
“There was a lot of very questionable calls throughout the game…he called strike 3 and I asked him ‘you call that strike’? he told me it was right down the middle, which is pretty upsetting…and then he walks into me, and told me not to bump him…I’m not trying to bump him, or touch him in any way.”
JT was asked about whether there needs to more accountability for umpires, but he chose to not get into that discussion beyond adding “we thought there was some pitches that didn’t go our way tonight.”
Manager Dave Roberts added his thoughts on some calls at home plate.
“I thought it was inconsistent tonight, both sides of the plate…it was a good pitch, borderline pitch…but I think there was just frustration that was building up.”
Of course, the game wasn’t lost by the umpire or the final strike 3 call. The Dodgers had Dustin May on the mound tonight to start the series opener in San Diego. After coming off a series loss against the Yankees, the Dodgers were looking to get back on track.
Los Angeles held a 3-1 lead heading into the bottom of the 6th inning when things quickly came apart for May. A 2-base error on a sloppy sequence involving AJ Pollock, Corey Seager, and Turner allowed 2 runs to score and helped LA eventually lose 4-3. The Padres were able to put together just 4 hits, but they were able to score 4 runs.
Doc shared his thoughts on the error that cost the Dodgers the lead.
“Dustin certainly should have been backing up right there, and it was a one hopper, that just somehow got in between Justin’s legs, and doesn’t happen very often…one of those unfortunate things, the proved to be the difference in the game.”
The Dodger bats remained cold and failed to score 5 or more runs for their 6th consecutive game. Walker Buehler toes the rubber for Los Angeles in the middle game at Petco Park.
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