Jose Altuve was in disbelief.
The Astros star, a villain among many MLB fan bases as a result of Houston’s cheating scandal, was ejected from the team’s 10-5 win over the Mets in 11 innings on Sunday after a ball he thought he fouled off his foot was called in-play, and he was thrown out to end the seventh inning.
“They didn’t see it,” Altuve told reporters after Houston won the series.
“I understand the guy behind the plate didn’t see it because the catcher’s there. But you have another three guys — first, second and third. I felt like it was kind of obvious. That’s why I was so mad.”
The contentions call came in the seventh inning with Altuve, 34, at the plate with runners on second and third and two outs as Houston held a 4-2 lead.
A 1-1 pitch looked like it was rifled off Altuve’s left foot, causing the ball to bounce up the third-base line, but none of the umpires – including James Jean, who was behind the plate – called the play dead.
This resulted in an easy third, as Mets third baseman Mark Vientos swept up the ball before dialing it to first base.
Following the play, Astros manager Joe Espada darted onto the field, and the four umpires conferred to dispute what had happened.
Crew chief Alan Porter signaled the out call.
The controversial call left Altuve fuming, causing him to slam his helmet and bat into the dirt and resulting in an ejection.
Altuve continued to holler at the umpires as he angrily stomped through the dugout.
Espada also shared how he felt regarding the play.
“The ball kind of took a different direction once it hit the ground, to Vientos,” Espada said.
“And [if] someone was going to get out of the box, second and third, and beat a ball out at first base, it’s Jose Altuve. So if he’s arguing, that ball hit him. And it looked like the ball hit him to me.”
Even at the time of the ejection, it left Mets broadcasters Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling scratching their heads.
“Well, there’s no question that a hitter is not going to stand there unless he thinks it him,” Cohen said.
“Particularly with a runner on second and third,” Hernandez replied.
The Astros (42-41) moved above .500 for the first time this season thanks to winning the final two games of the series and have won nine of their last 10 games.
