They call it a strikeout, but that name needed an adjustment Wednesday afternoon in Queens, when Mets closer Edwin Diaz managed to notch a (no)strikeout.
Don't worry, we'll explain, and there's a video.
Diaz was facing Angels hitter Luis Rengifo with two outs in the eighth inning of a three-run game. With two runners on base, Rengifo represented the tying run.
The right-handed Diaz started the at bat with a slider away to the lefty Rengifo. It was off the plate, but called a strike.
Diaz then threw three consecutive pitches further wide, all called balls, to fall behind 3-1.
But on the next two pitches, Diaz twice went back to that backdoor slider, never getting it actually onto the plate. Home plate umpire Erich Bacchus called both of them strikes looking.
Somehow, Diaz had thrown six pitches out of the strike zone to Rengifo, with none in the zone, and gotten a strikeout anyway.
One of the worst umpired at bats you will see pic.twitter.com/7NvTSzDWXg
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) July 23, 2025
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Diaz came back on to pitch a scoreless ninth and notch his 21st save of the season.
The Angels, now 49-53, are on the outer fringes of the playoff picture and can't afford things like that to go against them.
It's a huge boost for the Mets in the NL East race, as they are now 59-44 and trying to keep up with the Phillies.
Mostly, it's just a trifecta of brutal misses in one at bat by the umpire. Since all those sliders were moving back toward the plate, it's not even like they started in the zone. They were always a ball, but they were all called strikes.
It's definitely not something you see every day.
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