Philadelphia Phillies ace Cristopher Sánchez revealed that he received an apology from home-plate umpire Mark Wegner for a missed strike three call during the team’s 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 4 of the NLDS.
“He knows he missed it because he told me and he apologized to me,” Sánchez said, via Bob Cooney of NBC Sports Philadelphia (h/t CBS Sports’ Mike Axisa). “But a lot of pressure, important game, important situation, you can’t miss those things. You can’t miss those calls. I get it with the added pressure and all, but the pitch was a strike. So that’s going to stick in the back of his mind, there.”
In the seventh inning with Philadelphia holding a 1-0 lead, Sánchez threw a pitch to Dodgers outfielder Alex Call on a 2-2 count with the bases empty and one out that was called a ball.
Call eventually walked before Los Angeles went on to load the bases, tying the game on a Mookie Betts walk.
Philadelphia eventually fell in the 11th inning of the contest. With the bases loaded and two outs, reliever Orion Kerkering fielded a ground ball and his throw to home sailed past Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto.
Los Angeles advanced to the NLCS with the victory, while Philadelphia suffered its second consecutive NLDS exit.
Despite the loss, Sánchez put together an admirable performance. He allowed one earned run in 6.1 innings of work, racking up five strikeouts compared to one walk.
Sánchez wrapped up an impressive 2025 season overall, compiling a 13-5 record in 32 starts to go along with a 2.50 ERA and 1.064 WHIP. He also averaged a career-high 9.4 strikeouts per nine innings, limiting opposing batters to a .595 OPS.
The 28-year-old particularly excelled down the stretch of the regular season, posting a 1.65 ERA over his final five starts.
Umpires have apologized to pitchers for missed calls before, but the frequency will likely decrease with the implementation of an Automated Ball Strike (ABS) system for the 2026 season.
Next year, teams will receive two challenges for umpire calls every game and can keep them if successful.
