MLB umpire Brian Walsh under intense scrutiny after missing obvious strike call in Orioles-Blue Jays game

MLB umpires have been scrutinized for years now especially those behind the plate calling balls and strikes However baseball fans were in an uproar after an egregious call on Monday night in the championship between the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays During the AL East matchup Orioles starter Zach Eflin delivered a pitch that broke left to right and ended up right in the heart of the plate Blue Jays batter Ernie Clement stepped away from the dish in what appeared to be his acceptance of the first-pitch strike CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS COMHowever home plate umpire Brian Walsh just stood there indicating it was a ball in his eyes Eflin and catcher Adley Rutschman both froze at the same time staring at Walsh in disbelief that he didn t call the pitch a strike TENSIONS BOIL OVER IN MARLINS-GIANTS ENCOUNTER AS BENCHES CLEAR IN HEATED MOMENT Wait a minute one of the Orioles announcers was heard saying over the broadcast My goodness his partner chimed in You couldn t set it on the tee in the heart of the plate any better Look at this pitch right here How do you miss that Luckily for the Orioles the call wasn t a big one in the challenge and they ended up crushing the Blue Jays - at their home Camden Yards Walsh though was under fire in recent times after a strike-three call in the bottom of the ninth to end the battle between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Houston Astros The D-Backs were down one run to the Astros when All-Star Ketel Marte awaited a - pitch from Josh Hader with two outs and a runner on first Hader s backdoor slider was outside the strike zone but Walsh called it for strike three despite the pitch never being in the zone While Marte walked away without saying anything to Walsh the Diamondbacks broadcast crew wasn t happy Follow Fox News Digital s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter