Angels Thursday Loss to Division Rivals Ends With Ejections & Drama

A very questionable call led to LA dropping the first game of the series!

The Los Angeles Angels entered their Thursday night match against the Houston Astros with a big chip on their shoulder. They saw them earlier in the year but were not able to take care of business and currently sit below them in the standings.

But this time looked like it was going to be different as LA was coming off of a solid series win against the Chicago White Sox that ended with a 12-5 victory behind homers from Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. Reid Detmers was also taking the mound and that has been the recipe for success thus far into the year.

However, this time proved differently as Detmers allowed six hits to go with four runs in the five innings he pitched and LA headed into the sixth inning down 4-2. We had seen them make magic happen before and this was still a game that they could very much come out on top of.

But the sixth inning is where everything hit the fan.

If Brandon Drury was trying to catch a train, he went to the right place. pic.twitter.com/xeGJDHQOI5

— MLB (@MLB) June 2, 2023

Taylor Ward stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded and only one out against the Angels. A full count accumulated and he opted to swing on the final pitch... only for it to be called a strike by Stu Scheurwater.

This throw was super low and clearly below the strike zone and ruined LA's best chance at scoring for the rest of the game. Have a look at the play for yourself.

Here's the called third strike on Taylor Ward. Huge (bad) call there. Would have brought in a run and kept the bases loaded and one out.

Phil Nevin was ejected for arguing. pic.twitter.com/aIczZLHivT

— Sam Blum (@SamBlum3) June 2, 2023

Ward was visibly frustrated following the game and called out the MLB for not implementing automatic strike zones to avoid huge slip-ups like this one.

"Taylor Ward said the 3rd strike call was "very frustrating." He added that he would "absolutely" be in favor of an automatic strike zone, or a system where umpires are held accountable for missed calls."

(Via Sam Blum)

It is pretty ridiculous to see such an obvious ball here be called a strike. Nobody was more heated than team manager Phil Nevin who immediately ran out of the dugout to have words with Scheurwater.

This obviously lead to an ejection and a face-to-face dispute between the two.

Taylor Ward and Phil Nevin are visibly frustrated after a called third strike pic.twitter.com/ls5awkXQcV

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) June 2, 2023

Nevin spoke on the matters in his postgame interview and maintained nothing but respect in his answers.

"Stu's one of the better umpires in our game," said Nevin. "You guys saw it. I don't ever blame an umpire for the outcome of our game. We had a lot of chances today and we just didn't come through."

(Via Bally Sports West)

You got to respect Nevin being the bigger man here... we'll see you guys at 5:10 pm PT.