Tampa Bay Rays right fielder Jake Mangum struck out on a horrendous strike three call by home plate umpire Laz Diaz during Tuesday night's game against Texas.
Mangum came up in the bottom of the fourth inning with one out and nobody on as the Rays held a 1-0 lead. On the 1-2 pitch of his at-bat, Rangers starter Tyler Mahle threw an 83 mph slider that was outside of the strike zone by about a foot. However, Diaz inexplicably called strike three.
Laz Diaz with one of the worst calls you’ll ever see pic.twitter.com/W2FTNiJaM1
— Jake (@TBRaysCentral) June 4, 2025
To Mangum's credit, he bit his tongue, calmly walking back to the dugout. He would have been justified in being irate and arguing the terrible strike three call, but Mangum knows he likely would have been ejected. As for Diaz, this would not be his first controversial call this year.
Mangum was smart for keeping his emotions in check, as he came up again in the sixth inning and hit an RBI single. The Rays went on to beat the Rangers 5-1 to pull into a tie for second place in the American League East.
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports) and like Holdout Sports on Facebook.
