Alex Bregman found himself in the middle of one of the stranger replay moments in a recent Astros-Reds game. In the fourth inning of a tied game, Bregman checked his swing on a 1-1 pitch. The home plate ump initially looked ready to call a foul tip but held back. Bregman said the pitch hit him, and since the umpire ruled no swing, it was briefly assumed to be a hit by pitch. Confusion ramped up as the Reds argued it was a foul tip, and the umpires ultimately ruled it a foul ball. The Astros challenged the call, hoping for a hit-by-pitch ruling.
Replay showed no contact with Bregman’s bat. The ball may have clipped his arm or jersey, as his sleeve visibly moved, but it wasn’t conclusive. Still, if the sound the ump heard wasn’t bat, it likely came from contact with Bregman. Despite this, the review upheld the foul ball call, arguing the original ruling stood. Bregman, frustrated but not surprised, returned to the plate. After working the count to full, he got rung up on a borderline low strike. He protested briefly, but his manager got ejected instead. Bregman wasn’t thrilled, but the pitch didn’t seem as low as he claimed. The review system, though, looked worse than the strike call.