Astros hosed by umpires as Jose Altuve wrongly called out (Video)

A Jose Altuve single would’ve kept the Astros alive in the top of the fifth inning in ALCS Game 4 but the umpires hosed Houston instead. 

The Houston Astros entered Game 4 of the ALCS in dire need of a win over the Boston Red Sox. Unfortunately, the umpire crew at Fenway Park wasn’t trying to do them any favors.

With two outs and the Astros at the plate in the top of the fifth inning, second baseman Jose Altuve laced a ball down the third-base line. Rafael Devers made a great play on the ball and fired it over to first base.

Completing the beautiful play, Kyle Schwarber picked the imperfect throw to rob Altuve of a base hit.

https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1450644637924970500

As it turns out, though, it might’ve been the umpires who robbed Altuve of the single to keep the inning alive.

Astros screwed out of hit by umpires as Kyle Schwarber’s foot was off the bag

A closer look at the play shows that, when Schwarber made the play at first, his foot came off the bag.

That’s an awful break for the Astros, who trailed 2-1 at the time of the play, the closest they’ve been to the Red Sox in the middle of a game since the ALCS opener on Friday.

What’s crazy, though, is that the Astros didn’t challenge the play. It looked pretty plain on replay that Schwarber didn’t have his foot on the bag, So how Dusty Baker and Houston didn’t get a look at that and call for a challenge remains a mystery.

That “out” ended the Astros half of the inning. Thankfully, the umpires missing the call didn’t end up hurting Houston too much as they retired Boston without any damage in the bottom of the fifth.