MILWAUKEE — Major League Baseball umpire C.B. Bucknor’s challenging season took another turn for the worse during Tuesday night’s game between the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays.
During Milwaukee’s 6-2 triumph, Bucknor served as the first-base official when he made an error so clear-cut that video replay left both team managers grinning at each other afterward.
The controversial moment occurred in the sixth inning with the Brewers ahead 4-2. Jake Bauers connected for an infield hit but was initially ruled out when Bucknor declared he failed to make contact with first base. However, replay footage clearly demonstrated Bauers stepping directly on the center of the bag.
Following the successful challenge that reversed Bucknor’s decision, Bauers proceeded to steal second base and eventually crossed home plate on a double by Brandon Lockridge during the same inning.
“I don’t know what happened,” Bauers commented, declining to elaborate further on the blown call during his media session. “I’m just thankful to get on base and thankful to come around and score.”
This incident follows Bucknor’s poor showing with MLB’s new Automated Ball-Strike System during the previous weekend. During Cincinnati’s 6-5 extra-inning victory over Boston on Saturday, teams successfully challenged six out of eight of his decisions.
Each of the six overruled calls involved strikes that were changed to balls. The remaining two upheld calls included one ball and one strike.
Brewers skipper Pat Murphy declined to criticize the officiating during his post-game press conference.
“I’m not going to criticize that,” Murphy stated.
Television footage captured both Murphy and Rays manager Kevin Cash exchanging smiles after the replay clearly showed Bauers making contact with the base. When questioned about their reactions, Murphy explained the moment.
“Kevin and I are friends,” Murphy noted. “We hadn’t had a chance to talk to each other before the game, so we just smiled back at each other.”
When reporters asked Bauers about his appreciation for MLB’s replay technology, he responded with humor.
“Yeah, grateful for that,” he said, laughing.
