The National League Division Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies could be heading to a winner-take-all Game 5 if home plate umpire Mark Wegner hadn't blown a crucial strike call in the seventh inning — a call he ended up apologizing to Phillies pitcher Cristopher Sanchez for.
Sanchez had Dodgers outfielder Alex Call in a 2-2 count when he threw a pitch that, according to replays, caught the inside corner. However, Wegner called it a ball, and Call walked.
Instead of being no one on and two outs, Enrique Hernandez stepped to the plate and singled, ending Sanchez's outing.
Closer Jhoan Duran came in and got Andy Pages to ground out for the second out of the inning, but now Call was on third and Hernandez on second. Duran intentionally walked Shohei Ohtani to bring up Mookie Betts , who he walked on six pitches, scoring Call to tie the game.
If Wegner had made the correct call and rung up Call on strikes, that run never scores and in all likelihood, the Phillies would've won the game 1-0 to force a Game 5 back in Philadelphia .
Instead, the Dodgers went on to win it in the bottom of the 11th following Orion Kerkering 's errant throw to home plate that scored Hyeseong Kim .
After the game, The Philadelphia Inquirer's Lochlahn March revealed that Wegner apologized to Sanchez for missing the strike call.
"Cristopher Sánchez said the umpire apologized to him for missing the 2-2 pitch to Alex Call in the seventh. What should have been a strikeout became a walk, and that runner went on to score the tying run," March posted on X.
If MLB had implemented the Automated Ball-Strike system in 2025, this wouldn't have happened. But instead of using available technology, Sanchez got screwed out of a strike call that changed the complexion of the game.
ABS will be implemented in 2026, but that's too little, too late for the Phillies.
Even though the missed strike call played a big part, it wasn't the main reason the Phillies lost. That blame belongs to a futile offense led by Trea Turner , Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper . In their three NLDS losses to the Dodgers, they went a combined 3-for-35 with 15 strikeouts.
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