Bad strike call nearly had devastating impact on Braves and Ronald Acuña Jr.

Ronald Acuña Jr. escaped disaster after a bad strike call.

The Atlanta Braves had a huge sixth inning and that got started when Ronald Acuña Jr. reached base on an infield hit. But the at-bat should have ended with a walk.

Missed calls have consequences and Acuña’s at-bat had an extra pitch after a low pitch was called a strike. While he did reach on a hit, he fell running to the bag and had to be checked out for a wrist injury.

Ronald Acuña Jr. narrowly avoids a disaster

This is why it is important to have accurate calls behind the plate. In no way is this problem unique to the Braves. And Acuña falling is not technically the umpire’s fault. But the Braves and their fans may not be forgiving if the injury was the result of that missed call.

Luckily, a crisis was averted and Acuña reaching base started a rally that ended with the Braves leading 7-1. Clayton Kershaw was knocked out of the game and a huge momentum shift was felt in front of the sparse crowd in attendance.

Acuña has not been great so far this postseason, but he is still part of that dominant Braves core. Losing him would not be ideal and now fans will be making sure there are no more potential series-altering plays that happen because an umpire gets lazy on a call.

This situation is also another point in favor of the inevitable robot umpires. Having a computer call balls and strikes may not be the worst thing.