Manny Machado did little to hide his frustration with umpire Angel Hernandez on Sunday night.
In the sixth inning of the Mets’ 8-5 win over the San Diego Padres, reliever Drew Smith tossed an 85 mph changeup that came inside on Machado. As the third baseman attempted to check his swing, the pitch hit him in the elbow. Machado grunted in pain and began walking to first, only to be stopped by first base umpire Hernandez, who upon appeal argued Machado went around on the swing and therefore struck out.
Machado was clearly surprised by the call, as seen by the 30-year-old’s stunned facial expression. That shock soon turned into anger.
Moments after returning to the dugout, Machado blew a gasket and repeatedly smashed something onto the bench.
Padres third baseman Manny Machado complains toward first base umpire Angel Hernandez in the sixth inning of Sunday’s loss to the Mets. Corey SipkinAlthough Hernandez has garnered a reputation around the league for making bad calls, fans on Twitter were quick to come to the umpire’s defense for actually making the right call.
As for Machado, the slugging righty should still be pleased by his overall performance in New York, finishing the contest 3-for-5 with an RBI, a run scored and series victory.
