{"id":229723,"date":"2026-04-01T04:59:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T04:59:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/229723\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T04:59:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T04:59:07","slug":"cam-smith-walks-after-umpire-misses-swinging-strike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/229723\/","title":{"rendered":"Cam Smith walks after umpire misses swinging strike"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Cam<\/p>\n

Cam Smith homered Tuesday, a couple innings after he walked following three swings and misses thanks to a missed call.<\/p>\n

Jon Shapley\/Associated Press\"Houston<\/p>\n

Houston Astros’ Carlos Correa watches the replay after he scored during the third inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox in Houston, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo\/Jon Shapley)<\/p>\n

Jon Shapley\/Associated Press\"Houston<\/p>\n

Houston Astros’ Carlos Correa beats the tag from Boston Red Sox catcher Connor Wong to score during the third inning of a baseball game in Houston, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo\/Jon Shapley)<\/p>\n

Jon Shapley\/Associated Press\"Houston<\/p>\n

Houston Astros’ Carlos Correa beats the tag from Boston Red Sox catcher Connor Wong to score during the third inning of a baseball game in Houston, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo\/Jon Shapley)<\/p>\n

Jon Shapley\/Associated Press\"Houston<\/p>\n

Houston Astros’ Carlos Correa beats the tag from Boston Red Sox catcher Connor Wong to score during the third inning of a baseball game in Houston, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo\/Jon Shapley)<\/p>\n

Jon Shapley\/Associated Press\"Houston<\/p>\n

Houston Astros’ Carlos Correa runs down the first base line after he hit a ground-rule double during the third inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox in Houston, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo\/Jon Shapley)<\/p>\n

Jon Shapley\/Associated Press\"Houston<\/p>\n

Houston Astros’ Carlos Correa hits a ground-rule double during the third inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox in Houston, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo\/Jon Shapley)<\/p>\n

Jon Shapley\/Associated Press\"Houston<\/p>\n

Houston Astros’ Yordan Alvarez hits an RBI double during the first inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox in Houston, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo\/Jon Shapley)<\/p>\n

Jon Shapley\/Associated Press\"Boston<\/p>\n

Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Brayan Bello delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros in Houston, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo\/Jon Shapley)<\/p>\n

Jon Shapley\/Associated Press\"Houston<\/p>\n

Houston Astros starting pitcher Hunter Brown delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox in Houston, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo\/Jon Shapley)<\/p>\n

Jon Shapley\/Associated Press\"Houston<\/p>\n

Houston Astros’ Cam Smith celebrates with teammates in the dugout after he hit a home run during the seventh inning of a baseball game in Houston, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo\/Jon Shapley)<\/p>\n

Jon Shapley\/Associated Press\"Houston<\/p>\n

Houston Astros starting pitcher Hunter Brown delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox in Houston, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo\/Jon Shapley)<\/p>\n

Jon Shapley\/Associated Press\"Houston<\/p>\n

Houston Astros’ Christian Walker slides home past Boston Red Sox catcher Connor Wong during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Houston, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo\/Jon Shapley)<\/p>\n

Jon Shapley\/Associated Press\"Houston<\/p>\n

Houston Astros’ Yordan Alvarez, right, celebrates with Carlos Correa after he hit a home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox in Houston, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo\/Jon Shapley)<\/p>\n

Jon Shapley\/Associated Press\"Houston<\/p>\n

Houston Astros’ Yordan Alvarez gestures towards the dugout after he hit a home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox in Houston, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo\/Jon Shapley)<\/p>\n

Jon Shapley\/Associated Press\"Houston<\/p>\n

Houston Astros’ Yordan Alvarez watches his home run ball during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox in Houston, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo\/Jon Shapley)<\/p>\n

Jon Shapley\/Associated Press\"Baseballs<\/p>\n

Baseballs are stacked on the field before a game between the Houston Astros and the Boston Red Sox in Houston, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo\/Jon Shapley)<\/p>\n

Jon Shapley\/Associated Press\"Boston<\/p>\n

Boston Red Sox designated hitter Masataka Yoshida waits on deck during the first inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros in Houston, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo\/Jon Shapley)<\/p>\n

Jon Shapley\/Associated Press\"Houston<\/p>\n

Houston Astros’ Jose Altuve signs autographs for fans before a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox in Houston, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo\/Jon Shapley)<\/p>\n

Jon Shapley\/Associated Press<\/p>\n

A mistake with the count extended an at-bat for Cam Smith and the fifth inning for the Houston Astros<\/a> in their 9-2 win over the Boston Red Sox<\/a> on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n

Smith, batting with two outs in the bottom of the fifth, swung and missed at the first three pitches of his at-bat against Boston starter Brayan Bello.<\/p>\n

After the third swing-through, however, home plate umpire Mark Wegner signaled a strike and that the count was 1-2. The at-bat continued, and Smith ended up working a nine-pitch walk.<\/p>\n

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After the game, Wegner told a pool reporter that he had just watched video of the sequence and that he made \u201ca mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know what happened until I came in here and apparently I somehow didn\u2019t count the second swinging one because I said the count was 1 and 2,\u201d Wegner said. \u201cIt was actually strike three. Had anybody caught it, we can always go and call replay and check the count. I\u2019ve never done that before. I\u2019m not happy about it. Just made a mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n

HP Ump Mark Wegner lost track of the count and it seems like everyone else did too.<\/p>\n

This should’ve been a strikeout for Brayan Bello. Instead Cam Smith walked. pic.twitter.com\/32w4VXiRWZ<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Tyler Milliken (@tylermilliken_) April 1, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Nobody on the Red Sox protested the count after the third pitch, however. Red Sox manager Alex Cora, asked postgame if Boston believed on the field that Smith had struck out, told reporters: \u201cNot really, to be honest with you. I don\u2019t even know what to say about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith said he looked at the scoreboard at Daikin Park after the second pitch of the at-bat and it showed a 1-1 count. Smith said he had \u201cno idea\u201d about the mix-up until he returned to the dugout after the fifth inning ended.<\/p>\n

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Astros manager Joe Espada said: \u201cYeah, we noticed it.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was an eventful sequence after the second pitch to Smith, who was batting with runners on first and third. Joey Loperfido stole second base on that pitch. Red Sox catcher Connor Wong\u2019s throw to second base kicked away from Marcelo Mayer, who was covering. Christian Walker scored from third base on that error and Loperfido sprinted to third before the play ended.<\/p>\n

Wegner acknowledged that sequence after the second pitch might have affected his knowledge of the count: \u201cIt must have because that\u2019s the strike that I didn\u2019t count on my indicator. Because the next one (Smith) swung at, I gave a count that said 1 and 2 and it was the third strike.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Wegner said: \u201cNo one on the field said a word.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Smith noted, the scoreboard read 1-1 after the second pitch. MLB\u2019s Gameday tracker also indicated during the game that the count was 1-2 after three pitches. However, after the game, the\u00a0Gameday pitch-by-pitch had changed to show the first three pitches to Smith all resulted in \u201cswinging strike.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cI lost track,\u201d Smith said. \u201cI looked at the board, it said 1-1, and I was like, \u2018All right, next pitch.\u2019 I had no idea until I came back in the dugout.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a result of the first ball added to the count, Smith eventually walked in a plate appearance in which there were just three pitches called balls.<\/p>\n

The walk to Smith ended Bello\u2019s outing. Cora removed him with the Red Sox trailing 6-1 and Bello at 92 pitches. The extended inning did not lead to any more runs for the Astros, however. Ryan Watson came in for the Red Sox and retired Yainer Diaz on a ground out.<\/p>\n

Houston added to its lead in the next two innings and held the Red Sox to just four hits in the game.<\/p>\n

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