Brewers take Game 2 of World Series on disputed close call
Milwaukee beat Tampa Bay 5-4 in Game 2 of the World Series on Saturday, Oct. 24, when a first-base umpire ruled a borderline check swing by Yandy Díaz a strikeout to end the game. The Brewers lead the series 2-0.
1 / 3
The story, neutrally told
Mixed · 2The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-4 in Game 2 of the World Series on Saturday, Oct. 24, to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. NewsweekN “Aaron Ashby struck out Diaz to close out Milwaukee's 5-4 victory and take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.” Read at Newsweek ↗ Fox NewsR “the Milwaukee Brewers rallied to take a 2-0 World Series lead over the Tampa Bay Rays” Read at Fox News ↗ Right · 1The Rays scored four runs in the first inning, on RBI singles by Chandler Simpson and Junior Caminero and a two-run homer by Liam Hicks; Milwaukee answered with two in the bottom of the first. Fox NewsR “scoring four runs in the first with RBI singles by Chandler Simpson and Junior Caminero and then a two-run jack by Liam Hicks” Read at Fox News ↗ Right · 1Sal Frelick's solo homer off Ian Seymour in the sixth erased the deficit, and Cooper Pratt drove in Brice Turang an inning later to put Milwaukee ahead 5-4. Fox NewsR “Cooper Pratt drove in Brice Turang to give Milwaukee a 5-4 lead an inning later.” Read at Fox News ↗
Mixed · 2In the top of the ninth, Johnny DeLuca doubled and reached third with two outs. Yandy Díaz then took a 3-2 pitch from Aaron Ashby and tried to check his swing. NewsweekN “Jonny DeLuca led off the top of the ninth inning with a double to right field. A ground ball sent him to third base with two outs.” Read at Newsweek ↗ NBC NewsLC “On a 3-2 pitch that would have been ball four, Díaz tried to check his swing on a curveball from Aaron Ashby.” Read at NBC News ↗ Mixed · 2The first-base umpire, James Hoye, ruled that Díaz had swung, which made it a strikeout and ended the game with the tying run on third. NewsweekN “In Hoye's view, Diaz swung.” Read at Newsweek ↗ Fox NewsR “the first-base umpire ruled that Diaz didn't check his swing on a 3-2 count, controversially ending the game.” Read at Fox News ↗ Left · 1NBC News reports that home plate umpire Jim Wolf first ruled Díaz had not swung, which would have sent him to first, but Brewers catcher William Contreras appealed to the first-base umpire. The other two outlets do not describe this sequence. NBC NewsLC “Home plate umpire Jim Wolf initially ruled that Díaz hadn’t swung, which would have sent him to first base. But Milwaukee catcher William Contreras appealed to the first base umpire” Read at NBC News ↗
Mixed · 3All three outlets describe the call as close. Fox News said it "could have went either way", Newsweek called it "borderline", and NBC News said the Fox broadcast crew "seemed split". Fox NewsR “For certain, the call could have went either way.” Read at Fox News ↗ NewsweekN “As check-swing calls go, this one was borderline.” Read at Newsweek ↗ NBC NewsLC “The postgame crew on the Fox broadcast seemed split over the swing as well.” Read at NBC News ↗ Left · 1Díaz said he disagreed in the moment but accepted the ruling. Rays manager Kevin Cash said that from his vantage point it looked like Díaz swung. NBC NewsLC ““In the moment, yeah, I disagreed. But the umpire said it was a swing and it is what it is,” Díaz said after the game.”““I didn’t go look at it, but from my vantage point, it did look like that he swung,” Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said.” Read at NBC News ↗ Mixed · 2The call could not be reviewed. MLB's rulebook has no definition of a check swing and leaves it to umpire discretion, and check swings are not on the list of reviewable plays. NewsweekN “Hoye's call could not be challenged or reviewed; the first call is the final call.” Read at Newsweek ↗ NBC NewsLC “check swings aren’t on the list of reviewable plays, so the Rays couldn’t ask for a review of the play in Game 2.” Read at NBC News ↗
Left · 1NBC News notes that MLB tested check-swing challenges in the Arizona Fall League in 2024 and has used them in the minors since. Commissioner Rob Manfred said in June 2025 that no decision had been made about bringing them to the majors. NBC NewsLC “The check-swing challenge has since made it to the minors, being used in the single-A Florida State League beginning in 2025, and the triple-A Pacific Coast League beginning this year.”““We haven’t made a decision about the check-swing thing,” Manfred said then.” Read at NBC News ↗ Centre · 1Newsweek argues that Tampa Bay's own mistakes did more to cost it the game than the call. It cites a fourth-inning error by first baseman Jonathan Aranda that led to a run, a dropped foul pop-up, and a fly ball that bounced off Simpson's glove. NewsweekN “their own miscues in the field did more to allow the Brewers to win than Hoye.”“Rays first baseman Jonathan Aranda committed an error in the fourth inning that led to a run” Read at Newsweek ↗ Right · 1Fox News adds that teams winning the first two games of a best-of-seven series are 79-16 all time, and that the 1996 Yankees were the last team to win the World Series after losing the first two. Game 3 is Monday in Tampa Bay. Fox NewsR “Teams that take the first two games of a best-of-seven postseason series are 79-16 all time.”“Game 3 is in Tampa Bay on Monday night.” Read at Fox News ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left1 outlet
- Framing
- Explainer on the controversial call: what a check swing is, why it was not reviewable, and whether MLB will change that.
- Emphasis
- Rulebook gaps, replay rules, check-swing challenge trials and Manfred's comments, plus player and manager quotes.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Gives little game narrative beyond the ninth inning and does not weigh the Rays' errors.
- Charged language
- “incredibly close call”“a little help”
Centre1 outlet
- Framing
- Short report on the controversial ending that puts it in context: the call was borderline, but the Rays' own mistakes mattered more.
- Emphasis
- Umpire discretion, no review, and Rays' fielding errors by Aranda and Simpson.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Does not mention the home plate umpire's initial ruling or the checked-swing challenge trials.
- Charged language
- “borderline”
Right1 outlet
- Framing
- Game recap built around the Brewers' comeback, with the call as the dramatic ending.
- Emphasis
- Scoring sequence, Frelick's homer, bullpen, Ashby's scoreless streak and historical odds for a 2-0 lead.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Does not mention that the call could not be reviewed, the lack of a rulebook definition, or the Rays' errors.
- Charged language
- “wild comeback”“controversially”“clutch”
What every side reports
- Milwaukee won Game 2 by 5-4 and leads the World Series 2-0.
- The game ended on a check-swing strikeout of Yandy Díaz, ruled by the first-base umpire, with the tying run on third.
- The call was close and could not be reviewed.
- Game 3 is in Tampa Bay on Monday.
Where accounts differ
-
How much the call mattered
- Left
- NBC News says the Brewers 'got a little help from an incredibly close call' and focuses on the lack of a check-swing rule and replay.
- Centre
- Newsweek says the Rays' own errors 'did more to allow the Brewers to win' than the umpire.
- Right
- Fox News calls the ending 'controversial' and says the call could have gone either way, but centres on the comeback.
-
Who made the initial call
- Left
- NBC News says the home plate umpire, Jim Wolf, first ruled no swing, and the first-base umpire ruled a swing on Contreras' appeal.
- Centre
- Newsweek attributes the ruling only to first-base umpire James Hoye.
- Right
- Fox News attributes the ruling only to the first-base umpire.
-
The first-base umpire ruled that Yandy Diaz swung on a 3-2 pitch, ending Game 2 with a strikeout and a 5-4 Brewers win.
Supported- Supports 3
- NBC News, Newsweek, Fox News
-
The check-swing call was close enough that it could have gone either way.
Supported- Supports 3
- NBC News, Newsweek, Fox News
Yandy Diaz person
Díaz said he disagreed with the call in the moment but accepted the umpire's ruling.
““In the moment, yeah, I disagreed. But the umpire said it was a swing and it is what it is,” Díaz said after the game.” — NBC News
Tampa Bay Rays organisation
Manager Kevin Cash said it looked to him like Díaz swung. Newsweek says the team now faces a long flight home after a night of its own errors.
““I didn’t go look at it, but from my vantage point, it did look like that he swung,” Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said.” — NBC News
“who now face a long flight home” — Newsweek
Milwaukee Brewers organisation
Coverage presents Milwaukee as a team that rallied from a four-run deficit and is two wins from its first title, helped by the close call.
“the Milwaukee Brewers are two wins away from their first World Series title after a wild comeback in Game 2” — Fox News
“they got a little help from an incredibly close call” — NBC News
Left1 article
-
Inside the controversial call that ended Game 2 of the World Series
Neutral Explainer on the call, the rules and replay gaps, and MLB's check-swing challenge trials.
Centre1 article
-
Controversial Call Ends Game 2 of World Series
Neutral Concise account of the borderline call that says the Rays' own errors mattered more than the umpire.
Right1 article
-
Mixed Energetic recap of the Brewers' comeback that calls the ending controversial but treats it as one part of a game story.
- 25 Oct 04:46 First Fox NewsR Brewers complete wild Game 2 comeback after controversial call puts them up 2-0 in World Series vs Rays
- 25 Oct 14:33 +9h 46m NewsweekN Controversial Call Ends Game 2 of World Series
- 25 Oct 17:46 +13h NBC NewsLC Inside the controversial call that ended Game 2 of the World Series
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.
Ask about this story
Loading…