MLB fans shocked after umpire misses clear strike from Twins reliever Jorge Lopez: "Robo umps needed to be here 2 years ago"
Jorge Lopez has been one of the Minnesota Twins' most consistent pitchers this season. The 30-year-old reliever has been solid when called upon by manager Rocco Baldelli.
On Saturday, Lopez had a near-perfect outing. He managed to work his way out of the seventh inning without giving up a run. An impressive feat considering he had to face the top of the Los Angeles Angels order.
Striking out both Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout in the same inning is an impressive achievement by any pitcher. After the inning, however, all anyone was talking about was Zach Neto's at-bat. With the count at 2-2, Lopez launched what looked to be a fastball right down the middle of the plate. The umpire seemed to see it a little differently.
MLB fans took to Reddit dumbfounded after the strange decision against Lopez and the Minnesota Twins.
Neto went on to hit a double to left field. The Twins had a healthy 6-2 lead at the time, but with Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout in the lineup, no lead is completely safe.
Tyler Ward Lopez grounded out but was able to move Neto to third. Lopez managed to work his way out of the inning unscathed by striking out Trout and Ohtani on four pitches and five pitches, respectively.
The Minnesota Twins went on to the win the game 6-2 and improved to 25-21 on the season. They sit at the top of the American League Central with a 3.5-game lead over the Detroit Tigers.
Jorge Lopez was selected to his first-ever All-Star Game in 2022
The Minnesota Twins traded for Jorge Lopez during the 2022 trade deadline. Last season, the Puerto Rican finished with a 2.54 ERA and averaged over a strikeout per inning. He held opposing hitters to a .206 average and had a 1.18 WHIP on the year.
Lopez was rewarded for a strong start with the Baltimore Orioles by being selected to his first-ever All-Star Game last year.
The righty is following up his exceptional 2022 season with another solid year. he has allowed just three earned runs over 21 games. Overall, he has a 1-1 record and a 1.31 ERA after 20.2 innings.
The peculiar call from the umpires on Saturday could've come back to hurt Jorge Lopez and the Twins. In arguably his finest inning of the year, the reliever was able to work his way out of the jam in remarkable fashion.