HOUSTON — Aaron Boone got in Brian Walsh’s face and told him, “You f–king stink” after getting ejected by the home plate umpire in the eighth inning of the Yankees’ 8-7 loss to the Astros on Wednesday.
Devin Williams, also tossed, told Walsh he missed four calls in the frame and blamed the ump for impacting the outcome of a few pivotal at-bats after the reliever was charged with four earned runs.
Catcher Austin Wells, unhappy with calls on Tuesday and Wednesday, implored the officials in Houston, led by crew chief Adrian Johnson, to watch film in an effort to improve, while starter Will Warren said the Astros were “gifted” a win.
Then there was Jazz Chisholm Jr., who reposted a plea from Knicks star Josh Hart for Walsh to be suspended on social media after he ended the game arguing with the umpire over an outside strike three call.
“It’s just ridiculous to have the inning that I had,” Williams said, “and then Jazz got the bat taken out of his hands on a pitch that was a lot further from the zone than the pitches I was making.”
While Boone tried his best to avoid bashing the umps after the game, it was clear that he and his players were angry. Based on a few reviews of Walsh’s performance, the Yankees had a right to be.
According to Umpire Scorecards, Walsh had an overall accuracy of 90%, an overall consistency of 90%, and favored the Astros by 1.4 runs on Wednesday night.
Umpire: Brian Walsh
Final: Yankees 7, Astros 8#RepBX // #BuiltForThis#NYYvsHOU // #HOUvsNYYMore stats for this ump 👇https://t.co/PaIfvKx15b pic.twitter.com/udtCjIHcef
— Umpire Scorecards (@UmpScorecards) September 4, 2025
The site also said that Walsh’s three most impactful missed calls went against the Yankees.
The most impactful came on a 2-0 fastball that Williams threw to Taylor Trammell. While MLB Gameday’s tracker showed a strike in the upper, inside corner, Walsh called a ball after Trammell spun out of the way on the pitch.
Williams ultimately walked Trammell on five pitches — the last one being a changeup near the bottom of the zone — with the bases loaded, forcing in the go-ahead run.
Williams, who walked three total batters and allowed a leadoff double to Carlos Correa, also had a problem with two missed strike calls to Jesus Sánchez earlier in the eighth. He did not specify the fourth call he took issue with, though he and Boone were visibly upset with the last pitch to Trammell.
“When you’re making good pitches, which I was, not getting those calls really changes the course of an at-bat,” Williams said after his ERA increased to 5.60.
Other umpire watchdog accounts on social media, Umpire Auditor and BallsAndStrikes, found that Walsh missed 21 calls on Wednesday. Fifteen of those calls went against the Yankees.
Umpire Brian Walsh ended the game on a bad called strikeout to Jazz Chisholm in a 1 run game.
Walsh missed 21 calls in the game and 15 went against the Yankees. pic.twitter.com/SiSyXbCxZ6
— Umpire Auditor (@UmpireAuditor) September 4, 2025
BallsAndStrikes had Walsh’s accuracy at 87%.
“I think our guys made a lot of really good pitches tonight and didn’t get rewarded for it, so that’s frustrating,” said Wells, who added that he felt like Walsh’s zone changed over the course of the game.
While Walsh certainly missed too many calls — the Yankees were valid in their critiques — the Bombers’ bullpen also allowed six runs after Warren was yanked at 67 pitches.
Giancarlo Stanton couldn’t track down a couple balls in left that would have been catchable for more mobile outfielders, while Ryan McMahon opted for a safe out at first instead of trying to throw out Yordan Alvarez at the plate in the sixth.
And while the Yankees struck first and scored seven runs, they went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.
“I thought it was maybe a little inconsistent,” Boone said when asked about Walsh. “But this is more we had a lead and a couple chances to add on, and I thought the Astros put some really good at-bats together.
“They got the best of us tonight.”
