The Yankees and Mariners game was defined by erratic strike zone calls from the home plate umpire. Both teams dealt with pitches getting called differently despite nearly identical locations. One pitch would be a strike, and the same pitch a few frames later would be a ball. It wasn’t one-sided, but the lack of consistency frustrated players on both sides.
Things boiled over in the ninth. The Yankees tied the game and had the go-ahead run on second. Jason Dominguez came up to bat facing a nasty sequence from Seattle’s closer. After a tough at-bat, he struck out on a low fastball that looked outside the zone. Dominguez was stunned. The umpire told him to move along and gave him a guiding hand on the back. Yankees manager Aaron Boone stepped in to defend his young player. He told the ump, Mark, that he “kicked that” call. That was enough to get Boone tossed. The two exchanged sharp words. Boone wasn’t trying to start an argument, but he also wasn’t going to let a blown call pass without comment.
The pitching was impressive, especially how the fastball and slider were used in sequence. But the inconsistent zone took center stage. Pitches in nearly the same spot were called completely differently, with no clear pattern. It added drama, but also a sense of chaos. Boone’s ejection captured the tension. The ump wasn’t open to challenges, and the game ended with more questions than answers about the strike zone.