Peta had trouble getting a key strike call early in this game. He kept targeting the same low spot in the first and second innings, hitting the catcher’s glove cleanly, but the umpire refused to call it a strike. It was especially frustrating because Peta consistently hit his spot, but couldn’t buy the call. Even when the pitch tracker showed it as a strike, the ump just didn’t give it to him. After a few missed calls, frustration was building, but Peta never lost his composure.
In the third inning, with two outs and JP Crawford at the plate, Peta mixed his pitches well. He opened with a big curveball, followed with a tighter slider inside, then tried to go high with a fastball to finish the at-bat. The catcher set up upstairs, but subtly moved the glove down to help sell the pitch. It didn’t work. The pitch looked like a strike, could’ve ended the inning, but the ump still didn’t call it. Peta stayed calm, just gave a quick look back and moved on.
After the inning ended, the umpire owned up. He walked over and told Peta he’d missed that strike three call. Peta nodded, said thank you, and the game moved on. Credit to both for handling it professionally. From that point on, the ump stopped missing those low spots. Peta kept hitting them, and the calls started coming his way.