Umpire loses track of count, leading to walk instead of strikeout for Astros’ Cam Smith vs. Red Sox

HOUSTON (AP) — Plate umpire Mark Wegner acknowledged he lost track of the count during Cam Smith’s nine-pitch walk Tuesday night in the fifth inning of the Houston Astros’ 9-2 win over the Boston Red Sox.

In fact, Smith should have been out on strikes after the third pitch.

Smith swung and missed at two cutters from Red Sox starter Brayan Bello to begin the plate appearance. After the second pitch, Joey Loperfido stole second base and Christian Walker scored on the play thanks to a throwing error by catcher Connor Wong. After about 40 seconds, Smith swung and missed at a sweeper.

That should have been strike three but Wegner, a crew chief working his 29th major league season, flashed 1-2 for the count. Six pitches later, Smith worked a walk.

“I just watched the video. I didn’t know what happened until I came in here and apparently, I somehow didn’t count the second swinging one because I said the count was 1-2. It was actually strike three,” Wegner told a pool reporter after the game. “Had anybody caught it, we can always go and call replay and check the count. I’ve never done that before. I’m not happy about it. Just made a mistake.”

Wegner said no one on the field raised an issue in the moment.

Bello said Wegner gave the count as 1-1 after his second pitch, and he didn’t question it at the time.

“I thought the first pitch was a strike and I thought that he swung at the second pitch,” Bello said in Spanish through a translator. “None of that took me out of my focus in that inning. I tried to get out of that inning, and it didn’t happen.”

Smith was the last batter Bello faced in his season debut. He allowed six runs, five earned, on eight hits and three walks over 4 2/3 innings.

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