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A very iffy win, but a win nonetheless.

In baseball, when a batter is accidentally hit by a pitched ball, they’re allowed to take a free, uninterrupted walk to first base, just like when the pitcher throws four shots outside the strike zone. However, according to the official MLB rules, a batter is only entitled to a free walk if the ball that hits them is outside of the strike zone. It’s this important distinction that led to some friction during Thursday’s game between the New York Mets and the Miami Marlins.

At the bottom of the ninth, the Mets were up to bat with loaded bases and a tied score. Michael Conforto just needed to get a hit to get the runner in and win the game. At the 1-2 pitch, however, things got confusing when Conforto took a hit from the Marlins’ closing pitcher, Anthony Bass. In the heat of the moment, umpire Ron Kulpa seemed to prepare to strike Conforto out, but changed his call at the last minute to a free walk, bringing in the Mets’ runner and winning them the game. Judging from the official replay of the pitch, the ball was in the strike zone, which means Conforto should’ve struck out, something which Kulpa, after conferring with the other umpires, admitted to after the game.

The Mets just won on a walk-off hit-by-pitch.

The Marlins tried to argue that Michael Conforto leaned into the pitch, but that is not reviewable. pic.twitter.com/TMYrO80odM

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 8, 2021

“Not the way I wanted to win the ballgame,” Conforto said about the walk-off. “I wanted to go up there and drive the ball somewhere. From my point of view, it was a slider, felt it was coming back toward me. I turned. There may have been a little lift of my elbow just out of habit, out of reaction, and it barely skimmed the edge of my elbow guard. I did see that [Kulpa] rung me up. I think that’s why you didn’t see a reaction from me right away. I didn’t know what was going to happen. I knew there was going to be some controversy. Our first-base coach was yelling at me to get down there and touch the base and let’s get out of here.”

The call has led to some controversy among spectators, with some alleging that Conforto’s actions amounted to cheating. For the moment, though, it seems the matter has been officially resolved.