It was not the Giants' night on Tuesday at Oracle Park.
Near the end of their game against the Oakland Athletics, center fielder Heliot Ramos was ejected from the game after arguing a strike three call in the bottom of the seventh inning.
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It was a frustrating night at the plate for San Francisco, which entered Tuesday's game on a four-game winning streak. But their bats fell flat against A's starting pitcher JP Sears, who tossed seven shutout innings while surrendering just three hits, likely making the high strike called on Ramos -- which he believed was ball four -- all the more infuriating for the 24-year-old.
There has been plenty of emphasis placed on umpiring this season as fans and players alike consider the impending reality of the automated ball-strike system that will be tested at the MLB level in spring training next year. Ramos expressed his opinion about the system during an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle's John Shea during the MLB All-Star Game festivities earlier this month in Arlington, Texas.
“I don’t like a machine calling it,” Ramos told Shea. “I like the umpire calling it, but I’d like to be able to challenge his calls, too. I had it in the minors, and I like it. The umpire can make a mistake, and we can make a mistake with a challenge. Either way, we can take care of it right then and there.”
The Giants, looking to keep their momentum going Tuesday, were coming off a 2024 MLB trade deadline which saw the team do little to bolster its offense while solidifying its belief that the starting rotation might be strong enough to push them into the playoffs.
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Ramos, a first-time All-Star this season, entered Tuesday's contest as one of San Francisco's hottest hitters. And maybe, in the future, the call will be one that Ramos is able to challenge.
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