The Houston Astros lost a heartbreaker to the Seattle Mariners on Saturday night thanks to a flukish game-tying RBI off the knob of Dylan Moore's bat. The Mariners would go on to win the game in extra innings, but the storyline of this one was the four hit batters which led to both benches being warned, and Moore's game-tying play, which was upheld by umpires upon replay review.
“It scared the [expletive] out of me, to be honest,” Moore said. “So the original shock was, like, making sure that my hand was OK, but then the ball goes forward and I realize my hand is not hurting as bad as it would be if I was actually hit by a 96 mph fastball.”
A play the Mariners called 'chaos ball' in their post on X was initially thought to be another hit by pitch on the Astros bench. Instead, some heads-up baserunning from the Mariners led to a tie game. Houston still holds a three-game lead in the AL West, but it's just another reason why Seattle needs every win they can get at this stage.
For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB season.
Astros had the worst complaints after tough loss to the Mariners
The Astros, whose reputation precedes them, were unhappy with the call after the game. Notably, Houston first baseman Christian Walker understood why the replay review was upheld, but was surprised the umpires didn't assume Moore was hit by a pitch in the first place given how the rest of the game had gone to that point.
“Incredible bad luck for us. But also like, I wonder, just how he reacted, why it wasn't ruled a hit-by-pitch? ... Because if it's a hit-by-pitch, they can't challenge that it wasn't a hit-by-pitch, then it would’ve been bases loaded and we still have a shot, or maybe a double play or something," Walker said.
That excuse might not sit well in either clubhouse. Sure, one would understand how frustrating that play was for the Astros. We'd also understand if, in an alternate scenario, said play had been called a hit by pitch. But in this case, it was called correctly. Given the number of missed calls and bad umpiring in MLB these days, we ought to celebrate when they get it right! And when replay confirms! These are all great developments.
The Astros will be fine. They are (arguably) the best team in the American League as of this writing, especially with the Tigers losing six straight games. But Houston ought to drop Walker's mentality – it's not a great look.