Elly De La Cruz was robbed of an at-bat on Sunday, and the Cincinnati Reds broadcast blasted the umpire.
In the first inning of the Cincinnati Reds' matchup with the Houston Astros, De La Cruz struck out on a terrible call by an awful home plate umpire. C.B. Bucknor rung De La Cruz up on a pitch that was near his ankles. His manager and teammates couldn't believe it.
In the top of the first inning, TJ Friedl and Matt McLain both struck out swinging against Astros pitcher Ronel Blanco. De La Cruz stepped in with two outs and got ahead in the count 2–0. He took back-to-back sliders that Blanco threw for strikes. With a 2–2 count, Blanco threw a changeup down an in and Bucknor called it a strike.
Video is below.
C. B. Bucknor just rang up Elly De La Cruz on this pitch.
— Chatterbox Sports (@CBoxSports) May 11, 2025
We agree with Gavin Lux's assessment of the call.#Reds
pic.twitter.com/x7p8GeZBmN
Reds play-by-play man John Sadak took a subtle shot there, just naming Bucknor after the call. Reminding viewers who was at fault was the only message he needed to send.
At the end of that video, you can see Reds infielder Gavin Lux yelling at Bucknor for that call. It was brutal and took the bat out of Cincinnati's best player's hands.
De La Cruz doesn't need Bucknor assisting him when it comes to strikeouts. He entered the game second in MLB having struck out 51 times. This marked No. 52. In 2024, he led the majors with 218 strikeouts.
The Astros lead 3–0 early on.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Reds Announcer Calmly Destroyed Ump After Elly De La Cruz Struck Out on Bad Call.
