Controversial call brings rain-delayed White Sox-Cardinals game to abrupt end

St. Louis Cardinals pinch hitter Ivan Herrera.

Umpire C.B. Bucknor is in the spotlight again for all the wrong reasons.

On Saturday, following a three-hour rain delay, the Chicago White Sox’s 6-5 10-inning victory over the St. Louis Cardinals ended abruptly, thanks to a controversial call by Bucknor. Once the rain subsided and play resumed, the Cardinals left the bases loaded after the umpire rang up pinch-hitter Ivan Herrera on an outside pitch for strike three to end the game.

This isn’t the first time this week that Bucknor’s decisions have drawn the ire of the baseball community. On Wednesday, former Baltimore Orioles pitcher and MASN in-game analyst Jim Palmer criticized a low strike call by Bucknor in a game against the New York Yankees, saying “he shouldn’t be umpiring.”

Meanwhile, Bucknor and the Cardinals have also mixed it up recently.

Cardinals manager Oli Marmol alleged that Bucknor smirked at him and questioned his experience in the Majors before ejecting him from a game for arguing in 2022. Then, ahead of a spring training tilt the following season, Marmol said he attempted to clear the air, but Bucknor refused to shake his hand.

At the time, he told Katie Woo of The Athletic, “It just shows his lack of class as a man.” However, following a three-day review of the incident by MLB, Marmol and Bucknor ultimately shook hands before a game against the New York Mets.

Bucknor’s poor call aside, the Cardinals aren’t off the hook for Saturday night’s loss. After all, they blew a 5-3 lead before coming away with nothing after loading the bases with no outs in the 10th, leaving the game’s outcome in the hands of a controversial call.

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