Revere finds strike call in 9th hard to swallow

KANSAS CITY -- Ben Revere had more than an hour to calm down, to let his emotions subside, but these are the kinds of feelings that won't go away anytime soon. In the weeks and months ahead, the Blue Jays' outfielder is still going to be livid about a strike called by home-plate umpire Jeff Nelson in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series.

Revere could not hold back his bitter feelings following Friday night's 4-3 loss to the Royals that ended Toronto's season. The way Revere sees it, one call changed everything.

:: ALCS: Blue Jays vs. Royals -- Results :: The Blue Jays had runners on second and third with one out in the ninth inning when Revere stepped to the plate. Josh Donaldson was looming on deck and things looked good for Toronto as Revere quickly got ahead in the count, 2-1. Then the called strike, the one Revere didn't even think was close.

"It was terrible. It was terrible. It changed the whole game," Revere said while shaking his head back and forth. "It [would have put] me in a 3-1 count and now he has to throw me a strike. Then, [Nelson] says 2-2, and that puts me in a hole and now I'm battling.

"It was a terrible call. I know these guys are battling, but in that situation, that's just, you can't call that. It puts me in a bad situation. It changes the whole game."

Nelson saw it differently, though, and instead of being in a hitter's count, Revere was stuck at 2-2. He swung at strike three on a tough pitch from Royals closer Wade Davis.

While the Pitch-f/x graphics shows that Revere had reason to be frustrated, the Blue Jays had their chances, yet went 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position.

The anger was evident from the moment Revere struck out. He went into the dugout and started beating up a trash can, and later in the clubhouse, he underwent his own investigation to find out exactly where that pitch was. The results did little to ease his frustration.

When reporters were later granted access to the Blue Jays' players following the loss, it became clear from the outset that Revere had something he wanted to get off the chest. He's rarely an angry person, at least publicly, but on this night, he was incensed.

"That's a good pitcher, a good closer they have," Revere said of Davis. "He's already tough enough as it is. That's why I was so ticked off. I can't say anything to [the umpire]. I can't get ejected, so I went in the dugout and took it out on the trash can.

"It definitely wasn't a great call. ... If I swing, I can't hit it. That's why I took it."