The Blue Jays suffered a tough out in Game 3 of the World Series against the Dodgers Monday. With center fielder Daulton Varsho at the plate and ahead in the count 3-1, home plate umpire Mark Wagner called a delayed strike on a high pitch that Toronto initially believed was ball four and a walk.
Dodgers catcher Will Smith threw the ball back to starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow and motioned over to first base after Wagner made his late call. Blue Jays second baseman Bo Bichette thought he was off to second, but Glasnow fired the ball over to first with Bichette stranded for a bizarre first out of the second inning.
Bo Bichette was caught heading to second base because he thought Daulton Varsho walked pic.twitter.com/49d8EqwCZ6
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) October 28, 2025
Blue Jays skipper John Schneider was understandably upset about the strange sequence, which he explained in a mid-game interview with Fox's Ken Rosenthal. Schneider had a heated conversation with Wagner after the moment. and said he wants the umpire to change course moving forward as he hopes his squad doesn't fall victim to another phantom out.
"I think just to be a little bit quicker with his call," Schneider said to Rosenthal on the Fox broadcast about his discussion with Wagner. "Mark's a great umpire, been doing it a long time. Very delayed call, pretty deliberate. Just didn't say anything, so Varsh assumed it was a ball and Bo assumed. I just asked him in this environment, can he be a little bit quicker or give a little bit more clarity so everyone knows what's going on."
“Very delayed call, pretty deliberate. Just didn’t say anything, so Varsh assumed it was a ball and Bo assumed”
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 28, 2025
John Schneider spoke with @Ken_Rosenthal about what happened on the strike call in the 2nd inning pic.twitter.com/8kkYXlhdQF
Bichette clearly thought it was a ball due to Varsho's reaction, tossing his bat and beginning to take off his elbow guard in preparation to head to first. Toronto hopes to regain the lead in the series after they took Game 1 before L.A. stole Game 2 on the road ahead of the World Series' trip to Dodger Stadium. The Jays weren't able to score after the odd play, which they possibly could have as Varsho did end up getting a walk in the at-bat and Alejandro Kirk singled as the next hitter.
It was early in the game, but every out matters, especially in the Fall Classic.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Blue Jays Manager John Schneider Explains Odd Late Strike Call, Free Out for Dodgers.
