(670 The Score) There were multiple reasons the St. Louis Cardinals lost to the Chicago Cubs 2-1 in 10 innings on Sunday night in what was a very low-scoring affair.
Cubs pitcher Zach Davies and Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright pitched well. There was quality defense on display, specifically from Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado (no surprise).
And then there was also home-plate umpire Erich Bacchus’ strike zone. To put it simply, it was absurdly large and wide at times.
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Adam Wainwright was a beneficiary, as he threw 31 called strikes in the game, which was the most if any MLB pitcher this season, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.
In the fourth inning, Cubs manager David Ross reached his breaking point, getting ejected for arguing a called strike on star Kris Bryant that was clearly low. Ross could be heard on the ESPN broadcast telling Bacchus to “be better," among what seemed to be other choice words.
The report card for Bacchus, who is a rookie umpire this year, at game’s end wasn’t kind. He correctly called 85% of balls and strikes, which was the sixth-worst mark in MLB this season, according to Jesse Rogers of ESPN.
His performance was posted on social media by @UmpScorecards. It showed he was only 88% accurate on overall pitch calling.
It was actually the second time an umpire was trending throughout the weekend series. The first time was on Saturday in the top of the 9th inning, with two outs, when an umpire called this ball fair after it appeared that Arenado had picked it up after it rolled into foul territory:
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