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Umpire Gabe Morales Explains His Awful Series-Ending Strike Call

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MLB umpire Gabe Morales responded to the criticism he was receiving over calling out Giants' Wilmer Flores to end the game on Thursday night

San Francisco Giants' Wilmer Flores, right, is called out swinging in front of Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith for the final out of the ninth inning of Game 5 of a baseball National League Division Series Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)

The Dodgers-Giants NLDS series delivered.

The two teams were the best in baseball all season. And of course, their series came down to a tense winner-take-all Game 5. Unfortunately, though, the game ended in controversy.

With Giants first baseman Wilmer Flores up with two outs in the ninth, he was called out when first base umpire Gabe Morales deemed his went too far on a checked-swing appeal.

When looking at the replay, it was clear that Flores checked his swing.

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After the game, Gabe Morales was asked about what he saw to ring up Wilmer Flores and end the series.

“The plate umpire appealed the check swing to me. I thought he went, so I called it a swing,” Morales said, via MLB.com. “Check swings are one of the hardest calls we have. I don’t have the benefit of multiple camera angles when I’m watching it live. When it happened live, I thought he went, so that’s why I called it a swing.”

Wilmer Flores didn’t agree with Gabe Morales.

“I don’t think I went. Every at-bat matters in a close game, but there are some things you can’t control,” he said.

With the Giants getting sent home in controversial fashion, the Dodgers will now be favorites to win back-to-back World Series Championships.

Standing in their way is a matchup with the Braves in the NLCS. Should be fun.

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