The Mets were on the wrong end of several questionable strike calls during a game that left fans and players visibly frustrated. Dylan Cease opened the game with back-to-back pitches well outside the zone that were called strikes. He tried the same location again later and didn’t get the call, highlighting the inconsistency. Several pitch overlays showed nearly identical pitches getting opposite calls, making the strike zone appear completely unpredictable.
Francisco Lindor had a wild play where he reached second base after a comebacker hit Cease in the head. Lindor was initially ruled safe despite a close replay showing he might have popped off the bag just long enough for a tag. After review, the call stood due to inconclusive evidence. Cease appeared fine after the deflection. Later, Juan Soto showed his frustration at the inconsistent zone. Early in his at-bat, he was given a called strike on a borderline pitch that every tracking site showed was well off the plate. His manager came out to defend him and was ejected after calling out the ump for missing multiple calls in different parts of the zone.
Later, Soto struck out on a high fastball that was clearly out of the zone. Despite continuing to argue, he wasn’t ejected, which felt surprising given how umpires often react. Still, the calls were objectively bad across several frames, with overlays showing a total breakdown in consistency. The crowd noticed too — fans were waving sarcastic goodbyes in unison, clearly fed up. The game turned into more of an ump show than anything else, leaving players and viewers wondering what exactly the strike zone was supposed to be.