Astros' Smith walks after three missed swings on miscounted strikes

Houston Astros outfielder Cam Smith drew a walk Tuesday after swinging and missing three straight pitches against the Boston Red Sox. Umpire Mark Wegner failed to record the second swinging strike, allowing the count to proceed erroneously. Smith reached first base on his third ball, despite three prior strike swings.

The plate appearance unfolded at Daikin Park in Houston. Smith missed the first pitch for a 0-1 count. On the second pitch, another swing and miss made it 0-2, but Red Sox catcher Connor Wong's throwing error on a stolen base attempt allowed a runner to score from third, pushing the Astros' lead to 6-1. Wegner called the count 1-2 after that pitch, omitting the second strike. Smith then missed a third swing, but no call came. He fouled off the next pitch, took a ball, fouled another, took a second ball and fouled a third before walking on the count's third ball.

Wegner reviewed video postgame and acknowledged the error to reporters. He said he failed to count the second swinging strike, calling it 1-2 instead of strike three. Red Sox pitcher Brayan Bello asked the umpire about the count during the at-bat; Red Sox manager Alex Cora appeared unaware of the issue afterward. Similar umpire count failures have occurred at least 35 times in MLB history, per a video analysis from over five years ago.

The Astros won 9-2. The challenge had no impact on the outcome.