Ryan Pepiot and three relievers teamed up to shut out the Milwaukee Brewers, allowing only three hits as the Tampa Bay Rays secured a narrow 1-0 victory on Monday night.
Brewers manager Pat Murphy got ejected during the ninth inning after disputing a call that prevented Milwaukee from scoring what would have been the tying run.
In the ninth inning, the Brewers had runners on second and third with just one out. A wild pitch during a potential third strike to Jake Bauers allowed Sal Frelick to come home while Bauers reached first.
However, the umpire ruled that Bauers had hit the catcher on the backswing, resulting in Bauers being called out and Frelick having to stay at third.
Murphy expressed his disagreement, stating, “I believe they got it wrong, but there was no question in their mind that they got it right.”
Despite the Brewers loading the bases later in the inning, Jason Adam managed to strike out Blake Perkins, securing his first save in two opportunities.
This incident followed another controversial ruling against the Brewers in a previous game against the New York Yankees, where Aaron Judge’s slide on a botched double-play attempt was acknowledged by crew chief Andy Fletcher as interference, sparking a significant rally for the Yankees.
