Egregious Missed Foul Ball Call Leads Directly to Cubs Run, Braves Manager’s Ejection

The home plate umpire’s mistake resulted in a run scoring for Chicago.

Braves manager Brian Snitker was ejected from Wednesday’s game against the Cubs after arguing with home plate umpire Shane Livensparger over a missed call on what was ruled a passed ball.

It seems Snitker may have been onto something.

On the play, a pitch from Darius Vines appeared to get past catcher Sean Murphy. On the passed ball, Cody Bellinger scored from third base while Seiya Suzuki advanced to second. 

While the play was not able to be reviewed, replay footage clearly showed the ball hitting off the bat of Jeimer Candelario before getting behind Murphy. Livensparger apparently saw things differently, having ruled it a passed ball.

This was ruled a passed ball.

The Cubs scored on the play. https://t.co/bVTw9Pkl23 pic.twitter.com/lvFsafx8Pb

— Bally Sports: Braves (@BravesOnBally) September 27, 2023

Snitker was justifiably incensed over the missed call, especially considering it led to a run for Chicago, and he gave Livensparger an earful before being ejected from the ballgame.

At the time, Atlanta had a 1–0 lead over the Cubs, but the egregious missed call enabled Chicago to knot things up at one run apiece. 

While the Braves have already secured their spot in the postseason, Wednesday night’s game was an important one for the Cubs, who remain in the hunt for one of the National League’s final two Wild Card spots.