On any given day, Jimmy Rollins could go 0-for-4 or Roy Halladay could get shelled. Neither happened often, but players are bound to have bad games during a 162-game season.
However, if you attend a game where C.B. Bucknor is behind the plate, you’re guaranteed to see a vintage performance.
Saturday was no exception. While no one is suggesting that Bucknor’s performance behind the plate ultimately determined the outcome of a 16-3 game, it was one of the takeaways from the second game of the season. And the data backs up just how much Bucknor struggled, particularly when the Phillies were at the plate:
Zack Wheeler took responsibility after allowing seven hits and five runs — four of which were earned — across 4 1/3 innings pitched in his season debut. When asked about Bucknor’s strike zone, he also acknowledged that he “felt like it was a little inconsistent.”
But as noted above, the most egregious errors by Bucknor Saturday came when the Phillies were at-bat. According to the Umpire Scorecards review, the two worst calls went against Brandon Marsh, with balls out of the zone being called for strike three on multiple occasions in full counts. Marsh didn’t do enough to get ejected, but he certainly let Bucknor know about his displeasure after the second of those two strikeouts:
During the now infamous Ángel Hernández game last April, he rated significantly worse than Bucknor did Saturday on overall accuracy and consistency, coming in at 88% in both categories.
However, Hernández was remarkably bad for both teams, with it being estimated that his calls led to a +0.77 favor for the Milwaukee Brewers in the game. By comparison, Bucknor’s favor Saturday was +2.63 for the Rangers.
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