Bob Melvin and the Giants were upset about a call in the top of the ninth inning in their 5-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday, but a moment in the bottom half of the frame also had a significant impact on the outcome.
Per the Umpire Scorecard, which was published Monday morning, home plate ump Stu Scheurwater called strike two on a pitch to Michael Conforto, which should have been ball four.
Had Scheurwater called the pitch correctly, Conforto would have drawn a leadoff walk with the Giants trailing by three runs.
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SIGN UP HERE Umpire Scorecard deemed that pitch to be the most impactful missed call during the game.
Conforto flied out on the next pitch for the first out of the inning. The next batter, Matt Chapman, doubled to left, and two batters later after a Patrick Bailey groundout, Thairo Estrada doubled to drive in Chapman. Mike Yastrzemski then struck out to end the game.
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There's no telling how the bottom of the ninth might have played out if Conforto had walked ahead of Chapman, but the missed call appears as though it might have cost the Giants a run.
While Umpire Scorecard labeled the missed ball four to Conforto as the most impactful missed call in the game, that's not factoring in the controversial moment in the top of the ninth when Scheurwater believed Diamondbacks shortstop Kevin Newman foul-tipped a Nick Avila knuckle curveball in a 1-2 count.
Melvin and the Giants were convinced that Newman didn't foul tip the pitch, which would have been strike three for the second out of the inning. The first-year Giants manager and third base coach Matt Williams both were ejected for arguing the call.
Two pitches later, Newman connected for an RBI double to extend the Diamondbacks' lead to 4-2. The next batter, Ketel Marte added an insurance run with a sacrifice fly.
The Giants were able to scratch across one run in the bottom half of the inning, but the three-run deficit was too much to overcome, and the two calls played a large path in the outcome.