Umpire CB Bucknor, a veteran of 26 years in the major leagues, endured a difficult day, having six calls overturned during a game. The challenges occurred during Ryan Watson’s debut with the Boston Red Sox.
Suárez Challenges Lead to Overturned Calls
In the sixth inning, with the Red Sox trailing the Cincinnati Reds 5-3, Watson faced Eugenio Suárez with the bases loaded. Watson got ahead 1-2 before Bucknor called strike three on a borderline sinker. Suárez challenged the call, and the replay showed the pitch was just below the zone.
Suárez returned to the box, and Watson threw a four-seamer. Bucknor again called strike three. Suárez challenged a second time, and the replay showed the pitch was just outside the zone.
“That’s probably the loudest I’ve heard a stadium while pitching,” Watson said.
On the seventh pitch of the at-bat, Suárez hit a grounder to second baseman Marcelo Mayer to get Watson out of the jam.
Manager Cora Ejected Amid Frustration
Manager Alex Cora was ejected in the eighth inning. Cora said, “He has one job to do, it’s (to) call balls and strikes. It wasn’t his best day. That’s what the system does. It’s out there, everybody sees it, and he’ll be the first one to accept it. I saw him putting his head down after one of the challenges. And we’re all human. It’s not easy, what we do and what he does.”
The Red Sox had lost their challenges early in the game with two missed calls, one on a challenge from catcher Carlos Narváez and another from Roman Anthony. There were at least two other calls Boston could have challenged later in the game that Bucknor seemingly missed.
In the eighth, Bucknor called out Trevor Story to end the inning on a check swing with runners on. The Red Sox had pulled within 5-4, and Story screamed at the umpire and required manager Alex Cora and third-base coach José Flores to intervene.
Bucknor had eight calls challenged, with six overturned.