The most-loathed MLB umpire in Boston on Tuesday night didn’t go by the name of Angel Hernandez.
Rex Sox third baseman Justin Turner fell victim to an awful strike call at the hands of umpire Bruce Dreckman, with the ball landing well outside the batter’s box in Boston’s road game against the Nationals.
On a 3-2 offering from Nationals reliever Robert Garcia in the top of the fourth, Turner remained in place as the ball sailed outside the box by 5.42 inches, according to Umpire Auditor, with Dreckman calling him out to end a 10-pitch at-bat.
Dreckman’s call is the third-largest miss on a blown strikeout this season, per Umpire Auditor.
It’s worth noting that the first pitch, a called strike, appeared to be several inches off the outside corner.
Moments after the call, the Red Sox dugout — including manager Alex Cora — appeared to look at the umpire in utter disbelief.
Despite the whiffed call, the Red Sox still won, 5-4.
Boston benefited from a blown call in famous fashion last week following a suspect call from first base umpire Vic Carapazza in a game against the Royals.
Carapazza found that a check swing from Boston’s Luis Urias in the ninth inning didn’t go around, with Royals manager Matt Quatraro questioning the call and later being ejected.
Two pitches later, Pablo Reyes hit a walk-off grand slam in the 6-2 Red Sox victory.
The Red Sox are currently fourth in the AL East with a 63-56 record.
