Matt Higgins
MLB umpire Phil Cuzzi is getting torched on social media for his poor performance behind the plate Monday night in the Philadelphia Phillies–San Francisco Giants game.
Cuzzi made two bad strike calls during a pivotal at-bat by Bryce Harper in the top of the eighth and then in the bottom of the inning, he called what should’ve been three straight strikes by Orion Kerkering balls while Matt Chapman was up at the plate. Chapman ended up hitting a single on a 3-2 pitch that put runners on the corners. San Francisco would go on to score two runs in the bottom of the frame and win the game 3-1.
Umpire Scorecards, which tracks how home plate umpires do on balls and strikes, revealed that Cuzzi, who is in his 26th season as an MLB umpire, gave the Giants an overall favor of plus-1.42 runs, which is a high number.
Umpire: Phil Cuzzi
— Umpire Scorecards (@UmpScorecards) July 8, 2025
Final: Phillies 1, Giants 3#RingTheBell // #SFGiants#PHIvsSF // #SFvsPHI
More stats for this ump 👇https://t.co/uKEpYwV5Nr pic.twitter.com/myv6zobzjl
Following the game, Harper didn’t hold back, saying Cuzzi “took over the game.”
“Anytime I complain about anything, it’s pretty obvious, right?” Harper told reporters, including The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Lochlahn March. “So he knows he missed it.”
Social media also noticed the blown calls and made their feelings known.
Umpire Phil Cuzzi had a rough 8th inning in the Giants Phillies game.
— Umpire Auditor (@UmpireAuditor) July 8, 2025
He made two bad calls to Bryce Harper and then gifted Matt Chapman a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th life in the bottom half of the inning.
Instead of striking out, Chapman singled, and moved the winning run into scoring… pic.twitter.com/Sfeo7ZwNGB
I hope MLB is investigating umpires like Phil Cuzzi as much as it investigates players. This guy has been making all the calls for San Francisco and none for Philadelphia. After jobbing Bryce Harper on two wide pitches, he missed THREE straight strike 3 calls a half-inning later. pic.twitter.com/JwQiYc3k20
— Sloan Piva (@SloanPiva) July 8, 2025
Fire Phil Cuzzi into space pic.twitter.com/YOhOgA6mNv
— The Good Phight (@TheGoodPhight) July 8, 2025
Phil Cuzzi should never be allowed to umpire another game again. This is atrocious and completely unacceptable. #Phillies @MLBUA pic.twitter.com/1Vy97V5VBU
— Matt Higgins (@MattHiggins80) July 8, 2025
Phil Cuzzi’s performance last night is why #MLB is in the process of adapting ABS as soon as 2026.
— Jeff Kerr (@JeffKerrCBS) July 8, 2025
Triple A has the system now. A simple challenge of a call can fix a lot of these problems. #Phillies
Phil Cuzzi will turn 70 at the end of August. Seriously- how is he still umpiring?
— Kevin Cooney (@KevinCooney) July 8, 2025
Cuzzi is the oldest umpire in the league at 69 years old.
Even though Cuzzi played a role in the Phillies’ loss, their offense didn’t do them any favors, plating just one run and going 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. The lineup is 0-for-their-last-24 with RISP.
Cuzzi will not be behind the plate Tuesday night for the second game of the series.
