Watch: Cubs walk off Pirates on controversial play at home plate

The safe call on the field was upheld by the video review, however, much to the confusion of the Pirates. It was not entirely clear if umpires felt Bart had missed the tag, or if they determined that he did not have control of the ball when attempting the tag.

Regardless, Bellinger looked out. Bart seemed to have the ball in his glove, and Bellinger’s foot clearly moved from a tag before it could touch the plate. Bart had already made the tag when he tried to hold up the baseball, only to lose control of it, which should not matter.

There has been a lot of controversy in recent seasons over home plate calls, but a lot of that has come from the rules about catchers blocking the plate. That did not play into things here, making the ultimate decision even more puzzling.