MLB Fans Couldn't Believe The Strike Zone in Game 3 of the World Series

Unfortunately, home plate umpire Alfonso Marquez was trending for all the wrong reasons during Game 3 of the World Series on Monday night.
MLB Fans Couldn't Believe The Strike Zone in Game 3 of the World Series
MLB Fans Couldn't Believe The Strike Zone in Game 3 of the World Series /

The Texas Rangers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 3 of the World Series on Monday night 3-1.

With the win, the Rangers are now just two wins away from the organization's first World Series title. The Diamondbacks are two losses away from elimination.

Corey Seager hit a two-run homer in the win and Jon Gray delivered a gutsy performance in relief of an injured Max Scherzer, but unfortunately, MLB fans were talking about more than just the play on the field after the game.

They were talking about the home plate umpiring of Alfonso Marquez. While fans will always disagree with some calls over the course of a game, Marquez really had fans worked up in the bottom of the ninth inning.

With the Diamondbacks trailing 3-1, leadoff hitter Gabriel Moreno stepped to the plate. The 1-0 pitch from closer Jose Leclerc was a slider on the outer edge. It was clearly a strike, but it was called a ball. Then, on 3-1, Leclerc threw a slider way off the plate that was inexplicably called a strike.

Had Moreno walked, the D'Backs would have had the tying run at the plate with no one out. You can watch the two pitches in question below:

Here are some of the reactions from fans/insiders as well.

Jack Sommers of FanNation's Diamondbacks page:

Apparently Alfonso Marquez things the strike zone is only the middle row. This is ridiculous. He ranks 65th out of 86 umps with 10 more games called in average accuracy. Do better #MLB

Braves Insider Grant McAuley:

The strike zone is just a suggestion.

Jeff Passan of ESPN:

There have been a couple of exceptionally bad ball-strike calls tonight. One in the ninth inning of a 3-1 game that makes the difference between a walk and an eventual groundout is just not acceptable.

Game 4 of the series is Tuesday night at 8:03 p.m. ET.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady.