Rays Pay the Price Against Angels as Controversial Umpiring Strikes Again in Another MLB Showdown

Baseball is often a game of inches, determined by the thinnest of margins. One perfectly placed pitch, one timely hit, or sometimes one controversial call can swing the narrative of a game. When the attention shifts from the men on the field to the man behind the plate, frustration often follows. Recently, a matchup between the Los Angeles Angels and the Tampa Bay Rays became one of those games, during which fans questioned whether the final score truly reflected fair play.

The game took place on Tuesday, April 8, 2025, at the Rays’ temporary home, George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa. It was a close one, with the visiting Angels eventually winning out over Tampa Bay 4-3. Rob Drake, a longtime umpire, was behind home plate calling balls and strikes. The game played out much like many others at the beginning, until the ejection of Rays outfielder Christopher Morel in the eighth inning changed the dynamic and provided an immediate, dramatic preview of the controversy that would soon erupt and become the talk of the post-game scene.

Fueling the fire, the popular account “Umpire Auditor” had a typically blunt take on X. The tweet read, “Umpire Rob Drake missed 17 calls in the Rays Angels game.”  It included the important detail: “13 of the calls went against the Rays. The Rays lost by 1.”  The post reportedly featured video of the Morel incident, which connected the stat to the game’s most obvious flashpoint.

So what happened in that fiery eighth inning? The score was tied 3-3, there was a runner on third with one out, and Morel was at the plate. He was able to work the count to 3-1 against the Angels reliever Brock Burke. Then came the pitch that lit the fuse–the fastball that Drake called Strike 2. Most people watching thought it was clearly outside or “half a baseball off the plate.” This call visibly upset Morel. He struck out on the next pitch, slammed his bat, and yelled, which prompted Drake to eject him from the game.

Things went absolutely downhill for Rays’ third baseman against the Angels, but he later admitted, “I shouldn’t have done that,” while manager Kevin Cash simply stated, “It can’t happen.” The ejection and the subsequent loss marked the Rays’ fifth consecutive defeat, highlighting the challenges they faced in capitalizing on scoring opportunities throughout the game.

Question of fairness: Rays’ unanswered concerns

The consequence of Morel’s dismissal for that disputed strike call played out almost immediately. As the game tied 3-3 going into the top of the ninth, the Rays were forced to make extensive defensive adjustments. José Caballero, who played third base, moved to Morel’s spot in left field. This required Tampa Bay to substitute infielder Coco Montes, who was not playing the position, to take over at third base.

This deflected juggling act ended in disaster seconds later. There was one out and an Angels runner on first when Taylor Ward rolled a grounder to third, to Montes. It seemed like a perfect double play to finish the inning. But Montes bobbled the ball and only got the out at first. More importantly, the blunder let the runner, Kevin Newman, safely move to second base. Newman, the go-ahead runner, later scored on a two-out single, giving the Angels the decisive 4-3 lead.

It all seems connected—the controversial call on Drake, the ejection of Morel, the change in defense, and the critical misplay. But the dispute wasn’t just over that one scene. Drake’s performance was horrendous if the Umpire Auditor was right that he missed 17 calls. If he was missing 17 calls, that’s not even at 90%—it’s much lower than his career average (about 92.6%) and the league average (93–94%). Even worse was the supposed unfairness—13 of 17 missed calls went against the Rays, and the game was a one-run nail-biter. Drake has a history of games with equally poor accuracy rankings.

Also, the Rays were already feeling pressure coming into this game. They had just lost five in a row and were starting a brutal 13-game home stretch at a makeshift spring training facility because their regular stadium was unavailable. These factors don’t excuse poor umpiring, but they probably contributed to an overall sense of frustration about perceived injustices, which in turn made the contentious moments seem worse for a home team that was struggling.

Ultimately, the Angels won the game, but the story was about Rob Drake. Tampa Bay had opportunities, going 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position and leaving nine men on base, but the series of events set in motion by Drake’s calls in the eighth inning directly led to the winning run for Los Angeles. It makes the fans and the Rays wonder if that was fair.