Astros' Smith walks after three swinging strikes

Houston Astros right fielder Cam Smith swung and missed three consecutive pitches during a plate appearance against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday at Daikin Park, yet reached first base on a walk. Umpire Mark Wegner lost track of the count after the second swinging strike, calling it 1-2 instead of 0-2. Smith then fouled off pitches, took balls and walked on the third ball in what became a forgotten-count sequence.

The unusual at-bat began with Smith's first swing for strike one, making it 0-1. On the second pitch, another whiff went uncalled as strike two amid a throwing error by Red Sox catcher Connor Wong on a stolen base attempt, which allowed an Astros runner to score from third and extended Houston's lead to 6-1. Wegner later acknowledged to reporters that he failed to register the second strike, advancing to what should have been strike three on Smith's next miss.

Instead, play continued with Smith fouling off pitches and taking balls outside the zone until the erroneous ball three ended the at-bat. Pitcher Brayan Bello asked the umpire about the count during the sequence. A 2019 video series from the YouTube channel Secret Base documented at least 35 similar counting errors in MLB history, most in the 21st century.

The miscue had little impact in Houston's 9-2 victory over Boston.