Marlins Manager Don Mattingly Reacts To Controversial Loss To Mets

The Marlins were victims of a blown call to lose the game today against the Mets. There’s simply no other way to put it. In the bottom of the ninth, the Mets had the bases loaded in a tie game with one out.

Michael Conforto was down in the count 1-2, when he got hit by a pitch. The only issue was that the ball was a strike, and Conforto very clearly stuck his arm out to initiate the contact. The umpire was even about to call a strike, but then thought better of it, and granted the Mets the walk-off HBP.

Check out the wild ending:

Mets with a wild walk-off win 👀⁰⁰(via @SNYtv)⁰pic.twitter.com/hbnsj7Gki1

— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) April 8, 2021

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The Marlins would argue the call, but there was nothing any of the umpires could have done at that point. You can’t review whether a batter stuck his arm out or not. Game over.

After the game, Marlins manager Don Mattingly spoke on the whole incident.

"He knows it was a strike…I bet he feels awful because they don't want to do that either…they don't want to end like that…but it's probably too late" – Don Mattingly on umpire Ron Kulpa's hit-by-pitch call pic.twitter.com/Pkw9FNNxOU

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 8, 2021

Mattingly was right, the umpire admitted to reporters after the game that he made the wrong call.

I just spoke to umpire Ron Kulpa as a pool reporter. He admitted he didn't call it correctly: “The guy was hit by the pitch in the strike zone. I should have called him out.”

— Anthony Rieber (@AnthonyRieber) April 8, 2021

What an unfortunate way to lose a baseball game. Props to all parties for handling the missed call with class, though.

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